


Tactical Disadvantage

by teaandsmut



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Biting, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fighting As Foreplay, Light Dom/sub, Masturbation, Under-negotiated Kink, catching feelings, more like enemies AND lovers for a while
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2020-04-23 10:08:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19148890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandsmut/pseuds/teaandsmut
Summary: Glimmer can't stop thinking about Catra and decides to go to the Fright Zone to do something about it.This started life as a PWP so you can read chapters 1+2 and maybe 3+4 if that's what you're after. Then it turns it into a slow (ish) burn fuck-first-feelings-later canon parallel AU that I'm updating with new seasons, so join me for that if you want!Starts after White Out in season two.Update 30th March 2020: This fic currently covers up to season 4 episode 4 (Pulse). I'm writing the next season 4 chapter now!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> British English.
> 
> A note on Catradora: This is a Glitra-only fic, with neither other ships nor themes of romantic jealousy. Catra and Adora were only ever friends in this and their angst around each other won't take centre stage. My plan for this is to imagine what might happen if Catra and Glimmer were increasingly into each other over the course of the whole show because I think that would be fun!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer visits the Fright Zone and Catra decides to play with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I fell for Glitra and here we are.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.”

Glimmer cursed under her breath as she crept along the Fright Zone corridor. She startled at every noise, convinced clangs of distant machinery were the sound of someone approaching.

“This is such a bad idea; I should go back.” But Glimmer had been telling herself this for several hours of walking through the Whispering Woods and teleporting around the Fright Zone. She had ignored herself every time. And after multiple teleports into unfamiliar surroundings and subsequent hasty teleports to avoid being seen, Glimmer was low on magic.

She jumped at the sound of voices carrying around a corner and cast about for somewhere she could hide without teleporting. The corridor offered few hiding places but the open ceiling was lined with exposed metal ducts. Glimmer grimaced as she teleported onto one just before a group of cadets turned into the corridor.

After they passed, Glimmer checked her surroundings. The duct ran along the wall and was broad and high enough that she was unlikely to be seen from below but had a reasonable view along the corridor. She let out a shaky breath. This would have to do for now. She could watch out for her from here. And then what, Glimmer had no idea. Glimmer curled up against the wall, now exhausted. _I’ll just rest for a few minutes and then I’ll… Urgh, I really am bad at this._

 

Something was tapping Glimmer's face. She closed her eyes tighter and tried to stay asleep. The tapping turned to sharp pricks and Glimmer woke to find Catra crouched on her chest with her claws at her cheek.

“Wakey, wakey, Sparkles.”

Glimmer stifled a gasp and remembered just in time not to teleport out. She guessed that she probably only had enough magic for one shot at escaping the Fright Zone.

“Did you want another turn at being a hostage?” Catra asked sweetly.

“Uhh…” Glimmer struggled to rally her thoughts. Catra’s weight on top of her was sending them into disarray and overriding her sense of alarm. “How did you find me?”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “That's all you have to say? You're hopeless at this.” She climbed off Glimmer’s chest to sit beside her and shrugged. “I could smell you. Plus the air feels crackly where you’ve done your glitter jumping thing. So, princess, what brings you here? Social call?”

Glimmer sat up next to Catra and tried to think how to proceed. She never thought this far ahead and Catra’s conversational tone was disquieting. “You aren’t going to take me hostage then?”

“Hmm, I considered it. It was fun last time.” Catra grinned and Glimmer saw her pointed teeth. “But I'm not sure I really have the time right now. Bigger plans, you know.” Catra frowned as Glimmer looked at her mouth. “Come on, why are you here?” hissed Catra, suddenly aggressive. “Help me out here. I need to decide if you’re more useful as a prisoner or dead. I see you’re low on magic, so those are your options. Start talking.”

Glimmer sighed. _I am such an idiot._ She tried to ignore Catra’s eyes burning into her and to pull herself together. “I wanted to, uh… talk.”

“To _talk?_ And this is how you go about it? What’s wrong with you? Your lot are screwed.” Catra considered Glimmer more closely, taking in her shallow breathing, avoidant gaze and altogether odd behaviour. A flush crept over Glimmer’s skin as Catra scrutinised her and she flinched when Catra gave a surprised “Oh!” of realisation. Followed by a smug “Oh…”

Glimmer covered her face and groaned into her hands. She cursed herself again for coming here, for letting Catra see and for still not leaving. Catra’s ferocity, her relentless smirking, her _teeth;_ the thought of them persisted in coming to Glimmer’s mind at night, worse after every encounter, and the want for them had slowly taken root, ultimately compelling her to sneak over to the Fright Zone after giving a vague explanation of ‘going scouting’. Glimmer looked cautiously between her fingers at Catra, uncertain of what she would see in her face.

Catra wore an unreadable half-smile as she looked Glimmer up and down, her tail swishing in energetic contrast to her calm demeanour, and it occurred to Glimmer how truly dangerous it could be for Catra to know how she felt. “Sure thing, Sparkles. I know somewhere we can ‘talk’.”

Glimmer wondered if she imagined the inflection. “How do I know I can trust you?”

Catra scoffed. “You don’t.”

She jumped back down from the duct and waited. Glimmer sighed sharply, furious that she knew she was going to follow her. She reluctantly used some of her reserved magic to teleport down. Chin up in an effort to seem somewhat in control, she said, “Fine. Let’s go.” Catra smirked and turned to lead the way while Glimmer wrinkled her nose in annoyance as the impulse that brought her here leapt in anticipation.

 

After one too many turns through a series of corridors, Glimmer began to suspect that Catra was taking the long way round. She glanced back at Glimmer every so often, the corners of her mouth turned up in a tiny smile. Glimmer glared back, sure that Catra was deliberately dragging out Glimmer meekly following her. It felt very odd to be with Catra and not fighting. She had the unusual opportunity to study her without watching for her next move and couldn’t help but stare at the curve of her shoulders, the slight line of her thigh muscles and… Glimmer switched to studying the ceiling; there was no point in impairing her judgement any further.

She wondered if Catra really had understood why she had come here. Despite trying to avoid thinking about it, she knew exactly what she wanted to happen. Glimmer stumbled as she was briefly flooded by her late-night thoughts of biting and pinning and Catra’s hands on her. It seemed outlandish to think that could actually happen, that Catra was on the same page as her, even if she was hard to predict. More likely she was leading her like a lamb to the slaughter; that was the impression her backwards glances conveyed in any case. Catra actually wanting to talk seemed laughably implausible.

Catra’s ears twitched and Glimmer found herself shoved into a nearby supply closet. Her heart raced anew while Catra snapped at whoever passed by. When they were gone Catra pulled her by the arm back into the corridor. “This is _fun._ It’s like you’re my dirty little secret.”

“Ugh!” Glimmer scowled and snatched her arm back. But as Catra continued to saunter along, her stomach swooped at the suggestion that Catra had the same thing on her mind as herself.

After an eternity, Catra stopped before a large set of doors. She pressed a few buttons on a large panel and the doors opened slightly.

“We passed this already!”

“Aw, did we? Oops.”

“You are so irritating!” Glimmer's impulse was to shove Catra for being so difficult but her remaining uncertainty over what she was really up to held her back. It was frustrating - being compliant and passive didn't sit well with Glimmer.

Catra grinned broadly, showing her teeth and throwing Glimmer off-guard again. Glimmer wondered if she was doing it on purpose. “In you go, Sparkles.” When Glimmer hesitated, Catra’s smile dropped. “Or feel free to leave any time, princess.”

Glimmer took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness. The door slid closed behind her and the sound echoed strangely; she seemed to be in a large open space. She tried to steady her breathing. “Now would _really_ be a good time to leave,” she told herself. But her intense awareness of Catra on the other side of the door kept her rooted to the spot.

Someone questioned Catra outside and Glimmer caught a dismissive mention of ‘configuring a new training exercise’ before it went quiet again. Glimmer was leaning towards thinking that she had definitely walked herself back into being a prisoner when a low hum started up. Lights began to glow at what Glimmer presumed was the far side of the room and she tensed, waiting for something to happen.

There was a knock through the door behind her. "Get ready to run, Sparkles."

 _"Fuck."_ Glimmer’s heart dropped to her stomach as dim lights snapped on. She had a second to take in some kind of forest of artificial trees and a number of advancing bots before she was forced to duck and run as one fired towards her.

Compared to the unsettling stillness of the room a few moments ago, everything was chaotic and loud as bots crashed and fired in all directions. The lights seemed to move around, as if they came from erratic searchlights, throwing Glimmer repeatedly between dim light and darkness. She ran to one of the artificial trees and hid behind it, catching her breath. _Was Catra planning to kill me this whole time?!_ This seemed like an unnecessarily complicated and unreliable way to do it. _Or does she just want to mess with me first?_ That did seem more like her. Once more, Glimmer stayed put despite her better judgement. She was intrigued to know if that was Catra’s plan.

Glimmer screamed as a bot crashed into the tree she was under and twisted the hollow metal. She ran out, aiming for an area that seemed relatively free from bots and hoping that she would avoid their blasts, which at least seemed to be random rather than aimed at her.

During a moment of darkness, something hit her hard in the chest and knocked her onto her back, winding her. When the light swung back around, Catra was pinning her to the ground. Her eyes were dark in the low light and filled with malice.

After several attempts to get enough air in her lungs to speak, Glimmer cried, “I didn’t come here to fight you!”

“Oh, I know _exactly_ why you came here. I just figured you must get off on imminent death.” Catra leapt off into the trees and Glimmer rolled to one side to avoid being stamped on by a bot.

She ran without paying much attention, disorientated and uncomfortably aware of her body’s reaction to Catra, and found herself trapped between several bots. “Damn it,” said Glimmer as she teleported the shortest route she could see to escape, landing on a metal branch. She steadied herself against the trunk while the bots moved on.

The branch shook behind her and before she could turn there were hands sliding around her hips and then sharp claws pricking through her leotard beneath her navel. Glimmer gasped softly and froze. She remained motionless, barely able to breathe, feeling Catra pressed against her back. Catra spoke impossibly sweet and gentle by her ear. “You really are terrible at this.” Glimmer’s skin burned as Catra scratched her hands back, slicing Glimmer’s clothes and breaking her trance.

 _“Ow!”_ Glimmer elbowed Catra hard in the ribs. Satisfied with Catra’s yelp of pain, Glimmer took her chance to jump down as Catra released her.

Catra’s laughter chased her as she ran. Glimmer had had about enough of this game of hers. She ran fast and directionless through the room, trying to get some distance between her and Catra so she could think. She instinctively touched her abdomen to check for injuries as she ran and was surprised to find that the damage was mostly to her clothes. When Glimmer could no longer run, she fell against the nearest tree and groaned.

 _This is ridiculous! If she wanted to capture me, surely she'd have taken her chance when I practically handed myself over on a platter. If she wants to… do anything else, why won’t she get on with it already?!_ Glimmer thought, fuming. “Catra!” she shouted into the room. “What are we even doing here?” When no reply came, she decided to try adding, “I'm getting bored now!”

“No need to shout, I'm right here.” Catra dropped down from above her.

“How do you keep doing that?!”

“Duh, I can see better in the dark than you. Watch this - lights, off!” The room plunged into near-pitch darkness and Glimmer braced herself for a strike. Instead, she felt Catra’s breath on her neck. Then the sharp points of Catra's canines dragged across her skin, slow and undeniably erotic.

“Ah… What are...”

“This is what you came here for, right?” Catra's smug voice was even more infuriating than usual.

“Not like this!” Glimmer's face burned as she realised she’d definitely admitted how she felt now. Catra called the lights back on and Glimmer found herself face to face with Catra, the tip of her tongue running mockingly along her front teeth.

“Sure about that? Biting’s no fun without fighting.” Glimmer glared at her, angry at being teased and about wanting Catra's mouth on her again. “And I'm pretty sure,” Catra murmured, with her lips against the other side of Glimmer’s neck before gripping her tightly by the waist and pressing her teeth on her skin, making Glimmer gasp and tip her chin up to expose more of her neck, “that this is exactly what you think about when you touch yourself over in your safe little castle.” Catra pulled back. “Is the real world too scary for you?” She twirled a strand of Glimmer's hair around her finger. “Here I am, willing to fuck you, and you don’t seem to have the nerve after all. Can't say I’m surprised.”

At that, Glimmer snapped and her bewilderment was replaced by indignant fury that Catra still didn't take her seriously. _How dare she?!_ As if Catra wasn’t compromising herself right now too. _If she wants to fight, fine; I’m more than willing._ “Urgh! You are the _worst!”_ Glimmer launched herself at Catra. She noticed Catra's satisfied smirk just before she hit her and threw her fist extra hard in retaliation.

They flew at each other in a mess of fists and claws, feints and jumps. When Glimmer caught sight of Catra's face, she looked exhilarated and wild-eyed, the barely-suppressed hunger Glimmer had glimpsed earlier now given free reign.

Without her ability to teleport, Glimmer was no match for Catra's speed and agility, but Catra's determination to actively attack Glimmer rather than to dodge and counter meant that Glimmer landed a few satisfying hits. Catra no longer held back her claws and gave Glimmer several stinging slashes.

They were soon among a group of bots again and had to additionally contend with avoiding them and their random blasts. Catra had just freed herself from a headlock and was twisting back around to attack when Glimmer saw a descending bot leg above Catra. Without thinking, Glimmer pushed her backwards out of its path. When it crashed into the ground where Catra had stood, she looked positively disgusted at Glimmer. She waited, staring at Glimmer with her tail lashing, while the bots stomped on. The pause threw Glimmer off so when Catra rushed at her, Glimmer stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

Catra was on her immediately. Pain and adrenaline shot through Glimmer as Catra closed her teeth around the point where Glimmer’s shoulder met her neck, piercing her tunic and hard enough that Glimmer felt it start to bruise. Catra was almost motionless and her jaw quivered with tightly controlled potential while Glimmer found herself paralysed and willing Catra to bite her harder.

When Catra released her, the effect ceased but Glimmer could no longer find the same level of strength to fight. Frustration spurred her on to try all the same; though when she managed to push Catra off, Glimmer had the unsettling sense that Catra was easier to tackle than before.

As they tumbled across the floor, swipes and fists gave way to grasping hands and tussling over who was pinning whom. Catra seized Glimmer in her teeth twice more and again Glimmer automatically froze while she held her, even when a blast from a far off bot skimmed the ground beside them. Each time her fighting was a little clumsier when Catra released her. Her instincts screamed that her chances of coming out of this safely were rapidly dwindling and that escaping immediately was now her best option. But Glimmer couldn’t bring herself to do that when having Catra pressed against her was the alternative.

With a final roll, Catra pinned Glimmer to the floor and held her down with the strength she had been holding back. They were both breathing heavily. Glimmer struggled for a moment before accepting that she couldn’t pull free. Catra grinned, darkly triumphant.

“Last chance to back out.”

Glimmer tried to pull herself together. She could teleport from under Catra and be out of the Fright Zone in a matter of seconds. She suspected that Catra would stop all this if she asked, though she was less certain about what she would do with her afterwards. But Glimmer was struggling to ignore the reason why she was increasingly distracted during their fight, the reason she didn’t want to admit that she came here for, the reason she was aching. Catra held her down by her hands and knelt over her, biting her lip as she waited. Their palms together felt strangely intimate and Glimmer knew she couldn’t stop here. With her heart racing so hard it felt like it had stopped, Glimmer parted her legs under Catra’s hips.

A flash of delighted anticipation crossed Catra’s face when she felt Glimmer shift. She glanced down and grinned again, then released Glimmer’s hands before reaching down to slide her fingers under the hem of Glimmer’s leotard.

“Oh, _princess,”_ Catra chided, finding Glimmer already thoroughly soaked. “Quite the tactical disadvantage you’ve got there.”

Glimmer groaned; as if she needed reminding. But now that Catra was finally touching her the way she had imagined so often, she couldn’t wait through any more teasing. She angled her hips so Catra’s fingers started to slip inside her, with the heel of her hand rubbing against the ache of her clit. Glimmer felt the slight scrape of her claws, though less than she expected, but didn’t care; she was already covered in Catra’s marks and she wanted them there more than anything.

Catra climbed off Glimmer’s hips, her hand still under Glimmer’s leotard with the fabric stretched round her wrist, and propped herself up by her elbow to look down at her. Glimmer pushed up against Catra’s hand, desperate and needy, but Catra moved up in time with her, refusing to give her more friction. Catra’s mouth briefly twitched with a slight smirk and her eyes widened, dark with ardent excitement. Glimmer gave a petulant huff before letting Catra take over.

Catra watched Glimmer intently as she began to rub her hand against her, not bothering to start slowly. Glimmer’s slick had spread during their fight and Catra’s palm slid easily back and forth across her clit while her fingertips curled into her. Glimmer had begun making involuntary pleading whimpers until she saw the way Catra was looking at her. Intermittently visible in the irregular lighting, Catra watched her with intense focus, looking determined and almost angry as she fucked her. Glimmer broke into gasping moans under the attention and Catra went faster.

Glimmer breathed through the heat, already close but wanting something more. She tipped her head back and gestured insistently at the side of her neck closest to Catra. “Can you… please?” She had expected that Catra might laugh at her neediness, but her expression stayed dark and serious before she went for Glimmer's throat so fast that Glimmer feared for a split-second that mere play-biting had never been her final intention. But then her mouth was hot against Glimmer’s neck and the points of her teeth sharp and hard on her skin, her pulse throbbing under them, and the inescapable terror was exactly the rush she needed.

It barely took another rub of Catra’s hand before Glimmer breathed shakily, “Oh… oh fuck…” and gave herself up to Catra. A loud cry dragged from her chest as she started to come, giving way to broken gasps as she accepted the pleasure spreading from under Catra’s palm. Catra let go of her neck as Glimmer kicked and twitched and strained, struggling before melting into it. Catra continued to work at her, focus lost to fascination as she watched her come, until Glimmer was spent and gave a reluctant last moan before pulling away.

As her senses returned, it occurred to Glimmer that she was no longer sure what the terms of their engagement were, having lost the ability to pay attention to Catra’s mood when her teeth touched her neck. Before she could try to assess whether she was in more or less danger now, Catra moved back to her neck and Glimmer tensed in preparation for hostility. But she felt Catra hesitantly lick the grazes left by her teeth. Glimmer held her breath, trying not to break whatever was causing Catra to show her something resembling consideration.

Catra moved abruptly, swinging her leg over Glimmer’s so she was straddling her thigh. She gave a quiet whine as she rolled her hips against her. Glimmer cautiously reached up to stroke the side of Catra’s waist and she sighed, her face still buried in Glimmer's neck. Curious to see where it would lead, Glimmer angled her hips to press between Catra’s legs to give her some encouragement.

At this, Catra pushed herself up on her hands to look at Glimmer, appearing flushed and confused before squeezing her eyes shut in a frown. Glimmer kept pressing up for her and Catra whined again as she rubbed experimentally against her a few times, then pushed her knee up under Glimmer’s other leg to get a better angle. Glimmer watched Catra’s uncharacteristic lack of affectation with interest as Catra rapidly picked up the pace until she was grinding fast on her thigh. Her eyes were still closed and she was soon panting with exertion. It occurred to Glimmer that this was the first time she had really seen Catra expressing neither anger nor pretence, now with only earnest, desperate arousal across her features, her ears downturned as she chased her own release. Within a few moments, Catra shuddered and came in a series of hard jerks against Glimmer. As she stared up at Catra gasping though her pleasure, still enthralled by her mouth, Glimmer was surprised to realise that she thought Catra looked beautiful like this.

After slowing and stilling her hips, Catra rolled off Glimmer and flopped down beside her, now her turn to cover her face and groan. The room was still filled with noisy chaos but there was a muted bubble around them, making the frequent crashes feel surreal. The wall near them had a blast mark that Glimmer wasn’t sure had been there when Catra first pinned her here.

Glimmer knew the afterglow would wear off soon and didn’t doubt that Catra would return to her more challenging demeanour the moment it did. For now, she sat up next to Catra and laughed to herself. It was the only pleasant option she could think of to react to the situation they were in.

Still fully dressed, Catra had a dark line soaking through the fabric of her bodysuit between her legs and streaks of Glimmer’s slick across one thigh. “That’s going to be awkward to explain,” said Glimmer, gesturing at them and attempting a light-hearted tone.

Catra growled and lifted her hands to look over at Glimmer’s torn and slick covered clothes, bruises and scratches. “You’re not looking so hot yourself.” Glimmer laughed and Catra scowled. Glimmer prepared to react, realising she didn’t have long now. “Ugh, I’d better shut this off before anyone comes checking in here.” Catra sat up and brushed herself off. “Alright, Glimmer, get lost. That direction is your best option to get out of here unless you want to die a horrible death.” Catra’s cynical tone was firmly back in place. “What are you smiling at?!”

“You used my name. Ha!”

“Huh? No, I... So what?!”

Glimmer took a moment to grin at Catra’s indignant face then disappeared in a cloud of sparkles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this! Kudos and comments are more than welcome :)
> 
> vikaa_47 drew art for this chapter! Here it is on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/vikaa_47/status/1249730744165044226) and [Tumblr](https://twitter.com/vikaa_47/status/1249730744165044226)
> 
> If you want to follow/talk to me on social media: [Tumblr](https://teaandsmut.tumblr.com) (mainly used to post links to new fics these days) [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/teaandsmut) (we can but hope) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/teaandsmut) (I hate it but am most active there)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Round two! In which Glimmer tries her best to be the one in control this time. If you're a fan of whiny Catra, you're in luck because this chapter has it.
> 
> Featuring a convenient extra battle, that fanfic stalwart. Techically set between White Out and Reunion in season 2 but no particular reference to canon events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the second half of a regular PWP, but I may be persuaded to add some more after season 3 comes out.
> 
> Enjoy!

Glimmer surveyed the Horde camp from her vantage point. Soldiers milled about, looking rather bored but armed and presumably on duty. Her gut seethed. They weren't even interested in the town they had captured, they just wanted to prove they could do it. It was a pointless exercise for the Horde and the Rebellion. But Bright Moon couldn't just let it stand, even if it was intended as a taunt.

Next to her, Bow lay on his front and studied the hastily but efficiently constructed camp through a pair of binoculars. Adora bounced around behind them, already transformed into She-Ra and warming up for a fight. Hiding closer to the camp boundary were a group of Bright Moon soldiers and locals who Glimmer and Adora had deemed competent enough to join the fight to recapture the camp and free their village. Glimmer was more anxious than usual. This was a chance for her to prove that she could lead an organised attack. The Horde outnumbered them but they had the benefit of surprise and knowledge of the terrain. It would depend on sticking to their plan and hoping that the Horde were slow to react and organise. Glimmer groaned; there wasn't much chance of that happening. 

"Are you sure you know the plan?"

"Yes, Glimmer! We all know the plan,"  said Bow, not looking up from his binoculars. 

"And the villagers -"

"The villagers definitely know the plan, they heard you go over it ten times back in the town hall."

"Are you sure -" Glimmer broke off with a start that she felt at her core before she knew what had caught her attention. She grabbed Bow's binoculars. 

"Hey!"

"I thought…" Glimmer scanned the camp again, dizzying herself as she swung the zoomed-in viewpoint around the buildings.

"What did you -"

"Sh! I Give me a second." Having a closer look at the Horde soldiers made her uncomfortable. Some of them looked looked stern or bored, but some were joking around while they loitered. She kept searching as she found her bearings through the binoculars. 

Then there she was. The reason for her extra nerves.

She was in a control tower, leaning with her hands on a panel behind a wide, hip-height window, disinterest across her face as she looked over the camp.

The initial jolt of fearful excitement that Glimmer had come to expect upon seeing Catra was now swiftly followed by unbidden memories of Catra glaring down at her while she furiously worked her fingers between her legs. The resulting flash of need knocked the breath from her body, distracting her exactly as Glimmer had feared. She had been worrying about this happening ever since she had gone to the Fright Zone and let Catra see exactly how vulnerable to her desire she was, imagining all the ways Catra could use it to manipulate her. And if she was being completely honest, she was finding it increasingly difficult not to do more than just worrying when she thought about that.

"Are you OK, Glimmer?" asked Adora, bringing Glimmer back to the present. Adora and Bow were both looking at her with concern.

“I’m fine!”

“What did you see? Do we need to change the plan?” asked Bow.

Glimmer weighed up her options. She couldn’t afford for this to go wrong, especially not because of her feelings about Catra. But too much hinged on predicting her, a near-impossible task at the best of times. Glimmer tried to work out what was most likely. Sexual manipulation of an enemy probably wasn’t frowned upon in the Horde but the consequences would ultimately be worse for Catra if she was caught acting on any genuine attraction to Glimmer. Catra might also be less willing to try manipulating her for tactical benefit if she thought Glimmer could influence her in return, though she doubted Catra would ever believe Glimmer was capable of attempting that. 

Was Catra attracted to her? Enough to compromise herself? It was impossible to tell based on their public interactions, Catra was far too angry about Glimmer and everything she represented for anything else to show through during those times. For a brief moment in the Fright Zone Catra had appeared to lose control in the face of her desire but Glimmer wasn’t sure if that had been down to desire for her in particular or simply because she was turned on and Glimmer was just… there. On an impulse, Glimmer decided she had to try to find out.

“No, no, stick to the plan. Go in five minutes. I’m going to… check something.” Glimmer handed the binoculars back to Bow, keeping her eyes fixed on the tower.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” he asked, understandably confused after Glimmer had fretted so much over this operation.

Glimmer’s attention was already occupied by judging the distance and direction to the roof of the tower. “It’ll be fine, I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll meet you down there.”

“OK… Be careful, whatever you’re up to.”

“I will!” Glimmer didn’t wait for a reply before teleporting to the control tower, landing lightly on the roof. She glanced back to where Bow and Adora had been hiding and saw them starting to make their way down to where she knew the villagers and Bright Moon soldiers were waiting. She felt a little guilty as she watched them go. Knowing where she stood with Catra would help in the end, she told herself. As she tried to recall what she had seen of the layout of the small room, Glimmer’s body buzzed again at the thought that Catra would be pressed against her for one reason or another in a matter of seconds. 

Glimmer had become adept at dodging her guilt for lusting after Catra and accustomed to trying not to enjoy the way her dislike for her and the sheer inappropriateness of it all heightened her desire. But being here now forced these feelings close to the surface and before she could let them change her mind she teleported into the room below.

She landed right behind Catra and was flooded with adrenaline. Catra jumped but didn’t turn, instead angling her ears backwards and gripping the panel she leaned on. A wave travelled along her tail. 

“Oh hey, Sparkles,” said Catra, apparently unconcerned. 

“Catra.” Glimmer sounded steadier than she felt. The room was dark and Catra was almost silhouetted against the light from the window while Glimmer’s eyes adjusted from the brightness outside. Glimmer let her gaze hover at the nip of Catra’s waist.

Catra tapped a few buttons on the control panel. “I wondered if your lot would show up. Should have known Bright Moon needs to show how good it is by defending every worthless dump around.”

Instantly incensed by her casual disregard for the people who lived here, Glimmer teleported to put herself between Catra and the panel and shoved her hard in the chest, eager to lay into her. Catra stepped lightly back, her eyes already bright as she fixed them on Glimmer. She smiled while Glimmer could hardly think for the rage she felt at Catra, the Horde and herself, but most of all that Catra already seemed to have the upper hand.

“If it means so little to the Horde, I understand why they sent you,” spat Glimmer.

Catra snarled and threw Glimmer back against the sloped control panel, her hands on her shoulders to keep her down, and  _ oh yes, that’s better. _

When Glimmer didn’t teleport out, satisfaction replaced Catra’s flare of offence. “I see you’ve still got a death wish. How does it feel knowing I can bring you down so easily?” Catra dug two claws against the faint marks on Glimmer’s neck.

Glimmer forced herself not to react. This wasn’t going at all well.  She tried to come back to the justification she had given herself. “As if you haven’t been desperate to get me underneath you again,” she challenged, hoping her speculation would provoke her into revealing any truth in it.

“Don’t flatter yourself, princess. I was just getting the most use out of a gullible Rebellion fighter last time.” Catra moved to tuck Glimmer’s hair behind her ear, scraping the back of her claws painfully across Glimmer’s skin as she did so. “Especially since she was so pathetically willing.”

Glimmer shook both with hiding her response to Catra’s willingness to hurt her and with utter fury at Catra’s harsh denial. Glimmer  _ knew _ she had seen real, uncontrolled need in Catra in that brief moment and she was being too defensive for Glimmer to be convinced it really had nothing to do with Catra being attracted to her. She had only intended to flirt a little with Catra to gauge how she felt and then return to her friends but Catra was better than her at this kind of game and wouldn’t give up that information without a fight. The urge to force Catra to prove that she too was vulnerable to her desire welled up in Glimmer. With her commander’s resolve, she decided that was exactly what she was going to do. Even if she wasn’t yet sure how she could achieve it.

After missing a beat to consider this, Glimmer chose to lean into the behaviour that seemed to have worked Catra up last time: that of the naïve, pain-hungry princess weak with lust. She let herself give a poorly stifled moan at Catra’s claws now back at her throat.

With an easy grin, Catra took this as a sign to proceed. She ran her hands down to Glimmer’s shoulders and dug her claws in there. Glimmer arched up, not sure if she was exaggerating or not, and jumped when Catra pulled slow, sharp scratches across her skin. Catra proceeded to move her hands over Glimmer’s body, going from one point to another, puncturing her claws through her clothes and cutting short, deliberate lines in her skin at each place to leave searing pains and tiny spots of blood across Glimmer’s chest.

Like last time, Catra watched Glimmer intently as she writhed with each new mark. Glimmer tried to stay focused as it became too easy to cry and gasp, and with every spike of pain having a corresponding flare between her legs she wasn't sure she was still only putting on a show. She thought how good it would feel to just let Catra prove herself right by hurting her until she forgot any strategic plans she had and begged Catra to mercilessly fuck her.

Between scratches, Catra ran her hands over Glimmer’s body in a way she hadn’t before, slowing ever-so-slightly as they passed over her breasts. When Catra reached her waist it occurred to Glimmer that she had never touched most of Catra, despite all their skirmishes, and she was suddenly desperate to rectify that. She reached to touch whatever part of her she could, annoyed that it looked needy in comparison to Catra’s purposeful movements. She stroked over Catra’s waist and hips and the dip and swell that often caught her attention was even better under her hands.

At this, Catra pushed Glimmer further up the sloped control panel until Glimmer’s feet were off the ground and her thighs were pushed apart by Catra’s hips between them. Despite her claims of indifference, Catra was taking sharp little breaths after each of Glimmer's moans. Glimmer hooked her legs around her, trying to pull her closer for some friction, while Catra leaned in to nip along Glimmer’s collarbone. Glimmer shivered, relieved that she only nipped her lightly so she could keep thinking somewhat clearly. But at the same time she found herself wishing for Catra to obliterate her rational mind with a savage bite at her neck and quick fingers between her legs. Glimmer guessed that was probably Catra’s next move and she panicked at the thought that she might let her. 

The sound of several pairs of boots running on metal passed outside the room. Catra cursed and reached across the panel to hit a switch. A lock thunked behind her. The distraction gave Glimmer enough of a reprieve to remember her goal. She had to change something about this. Unable to think of another option, she searched around the back of Catra's neck until she found the fastening of her bodysuit and tugged it down.

Catra immediately pulled away. Glimmer slid down to stand on the ground as Catra stepped back. “You first,” she said warily.

Glimmer realised with surprise that even though Glimmer was clearly displaying her weakness for her, Catra still saw her as a viable opponent. And despite that, she still wanted to proceed but was unwilling to be the first one to give any ground. Glimmer tried not to smirk at that as she thought of a way to push Catra to reveal that she wanted Glimmer more than simply as a convenient conquest. She pulled the straps of her leotard off her shoulders and slipped it down without ceremony. Catra’s face was impassive while Glimmer removed her bra and stepped out of her underwear, the pale blue fabric turned dark where her slick had soaked through.

She stood expectantly before Catra, her tunic covering her breasts before opening out to frame the rest of her body. She decided that was enough clothing to remove in case she had to dress in a hurry, so her cape, gloves and boots remained on. Catra didn't trouble herself not to smirk as she looked her up and down. “Huh. So that really is your natural colour.” Her attempted tone of blasé amusement didn't quite work out and Glimmer felt a surge of confidence.

She put her hands on her hips and gestured at Catra with an imperious nod. “Your turn.”

Catra bristled at Glimmer's change of tone. “You just expect everyone to fall over themselves to obey you, don’t you, princess?”

Glimmer kicked herself for testing Catra too soon. To let Catra feel in control again, she played back up to the lust-drunk role. “I… I just really want to see you…” she said weakly. As soon as she said it she knew it was true. Though she had never particularly fantasised about seeing Catra naked, the thought of it made her step back to steady herself on the edge of the control panel. The irony of being the most honest she had ever been with Catra as a result of trying to act out a part was jarring.

But the genuine note convinced Catra and Glimmer tried not to look at the single sharp canine that showed with Catra's half-smile. “Of course you do. Get down there.” Catra gestured at the floor and laughed when Glimmer unquestioningly obeyed her. With great effort, Glimmer held back her irritation, reminding herself that it would be worth it to make Catra show that she wanted Glimmer too.

The room was a narrow rectangle, with the raised control panel and observation window on one long side and a door in the middle of the other. It had the utilitarian look of having been assembled from prefabricated pieces and Glimmer felt freshly annoyed at how brutally well-equipped the Horde were.

The view across the camp wasn't visible from where Glimmer waited on the floor and she half-wondered if that was why the sounds of activity outside sounded louder, the reason she was at this camp at all having been temporarily forgotten in exchange for her personal battle with Catra.

Catra pulled off her clothes quickly and matter-of-factly. Rather than pounce on her as Glimmer expected, Catra knelt and slowly straddled her. She looked insufferably pleased with herself while Glimmer no longer wondered if any of her own reactions were put on for show. She stared up at Catra, open-mouthed as she took in her incongruously soft-looking breasts over an angular chest, the planes of her abdomen, the sharp pull of the tendons either side of dark curls between her legs.

“Aw, look at you. Maybe I'll bite you properly when I make you come this time,” said Catra, almost gently. “Doesn't look like you'll be able to stop me.”

As tempting as that was, Glimmer found the last threads of her resolve and teleported down so her face was between Catra's thighs. Catra startled then scowled at the sparkles. She was creamy with slick and her heady scent was sweet and Glimmer wanted nothing more than to have her mouth on her. But she waited, holding Catra’s gaze until she gave a resigned huff. She moved downward and Glimmer rose to meet her.

Catra roughly choked back a cry and fell forwards onto her hands. Glimmer forgot to feel any ruthless sense of victory and instead pulled Catra’s hips down towards her and relished the taste of Catra on her tongue, lapping too eagerly and moaning against her. Catra held her moans down but a series of high-pitched sounds from her throat gave them away.

Glimmer found a rhythm of rolling her tongue and sucking at Catra, letting herself make happy noises as she enjoyed the wet, messy way her lips slipped and pressed against Catra’s soft folds. Unlike Catra, she no longer felt the need to pretend she didn’t want this. She paid attention to which strokes of her tongue made Catra tense with the effort to stifle fresh moans. Seeing Catra struggle to control herself was gorgeous and Glimmer wanted to see her fail completely.

There was a tentative tapping at the door beside them and a voice Glimmer recognised spoke.

“Uh, Catra? We could use some help out here. Can you see -”

Catra finally groaned loudly, her pleasure audible to Glimmer under the frustration. Glimmer didn’t stop. “I’m kind of - mmh - kind of busy here, Scorpia!”

“If you could just -”

“I said - ah!” Catra took several breaths before she tried again. Glimmer fought the urge to giggle as she made Catra squirm. “I said I’m busy!”

“But -”

“You’re a force captain, figure it out yourself!”

“Uh… Yes, OK, I can do that!” The floor beneath them rattled as Scorpia ran off, shouting orders.

Catra looked furious.  _ Fuck, she’s hot like this,  _ thought Glimmer. She couldn’t resist pulling back and slowing her tongue until Catra growled at the lack of pressure.  _ Come on, Catra, wouldn’t it feel good to get that anger out?  _ Glimmer pressed her legs together in a futile attempt to smother some of the heat between them. Catra’s tail swept back and forth over Glimmer’s bare skin. Then Catra bucked hard against Glimmer’s mouth and she gave a silent cheer as she was pushed roughly down. Glimmer found she was slipping dangerously close to giving in to the temptation to let Catra to wreck her. She watched with a mixture of alarm and want as Catra became more aggressive, the muscles in her thighs and abdomen pulling taut again and again with each sharp rub against her. 

Rather than abating, Catra’s anger only seemed to become more intense and Glimmer’s arousal rose with it. Glimmer took at guess at how close Catra was and reached between her own legs to do something about it. While Catra continued to grind out her frustration and Glimmer found a way to take it, she rubbed fast at the painful throbbing until it burst white-hot through her and she cried out against Catra’s cunt. Her delight at Catra’s unleashed fury fueled the thrill and for a few short moments she let it wash over her until her mind cleared and she could concentrate again.

When she looked back at Catra, she had stopped moving and was smirking down at her.  _ Ugh, of course she is.  _ Seeing that Glimmer was paying attention again, Catra moved with slow and determined flicks of her hips against her, grinning as Glimmer was pushed harder to the floor and she struggled to manage Catra in her mouth. Glimmer decided that was enough of letting Catra have her own way. She wasn't going to let Catra be able to claim she was using her again.

Glimmer wriggled until her mouth was free and Catra scowled at her, looking for an explanation.

“I want you to say my name,” said Glimmer calmly, hoping that she sounded sufficiently confident.

“What?”

“I want you to say my name before you come.”

Catra gave a short laugh. “Fuck off, princess.”

Glimmer smiled back as an idea came to her. “Actually, since you like calling me ‘princess’ so much, that’s what you’re going to say.” Catra opened her mouth to answer back and Glimmer cut her off. “Not now. I want to hear you  _ scream _ it.” Glimmer turned to lick the inside of Catra’s thigh and was pleased to hear her whine. “Or I won’t let you come.”

With some effort, Catra said, “You’re not the one calling the shots here, Sparkles.” 

Catra moved to push herself back against Glimmer’s mouth but she was ready for that and teleported out to kneel in front of her. She licked some of Catra’s taste from her lips while she waited for her to yield.

When Catra fumed, Glimmer smiled sweetly and teleported back between her thighs and immediately had her tongue running soft and slow along the smooth centre of Catra’s slit.  _ Oh, that's so good.  _ The deep moan Catra couldn’t suppress was intensely gratifying. Glimmer felt like she could spend hours with her mouth buried between Catra's legs, making her struggle and give up over and over, and briefly lamented that it wasn’t likely to happen.

Glimmer resumed swirling her tongue around Catra’s clit, holding her in place with her hands at the back of her hips. Other than the grimace of effort not to cry out, Catra didn’t put up any resistance and Glimmer sensed victory within her grasp. Remembering what had pleasured Catra the most earlier, Glimmer went straight for bringing her close to climax. She watched Catra carefully.  _ Come on, say it.  _ Catra was biting down on her lip. Then a raw sound escaped her and Glimmer saw she was far closer than she thought. 

Glimmer felt a flash of annoyance at Catra for trying to avoid her instruction. But it made her even more determined to get her own way and so she focused on slowing right down to bring Catra back from the edge. Catra gave an infuriated growl that was almost pathetic in its desperation. Glimmer raised her eyebrows at her as she continued to hold her at a lowered state of arousal.  _ I'm winning this one, Catra. _ When Catra conceded with a petulant glare, Glimmer pushed her back up again, more gradually now that she knew Catra might try to get out of it again. 

Catra still wouldn't give up trying not to moan as Glimmer licked into her, so when her cries broke through more frequently before being choked back they even more delicious. Glimmer wanted to hear her helpless. 

“Ah! Fu-” Catra trembled and panted above Glimmer, her claws scraping at the ground and her expression pained. Glimmer was pleased to see that Catra still managed to look at her like she completely despised her for this.  _ Good. Now come on…  _

Glimmer went faster and softer and Catra failed to stay quiet. “Aah! Mmh…” Catra tensed for a second then gave up. “Oh  _ fuck…  _ Gli-” Catra bit her lip so hard that even Glimmer winced. “Oh… oh, princess,” she almost whispered at first. “Fuck...  _ Please, _ princess. _ Ah! Princess!”  _

The last one was lost in an incoherent cry and Catra dissolved into a whimpering, gasping mess. Her face was a picture of exquisite distress as her body was racked with wave after convulsive wave. Glimmer licked ever softer, refusing to let any of Catra's pleasure go unrealised, making sure she wrung every last drop from her. Catra gasped weakly each time she thought it was over and Glimmer coaxed more from her until there was nothing left.

Glimmer teleported out to kneel before Catra again so she could watch her try to catch her breath. She felt oddly detached as Catra hung her head between her arms and her shoulders heaved. Between irregular gulps of air, Catra made little whines and Glimmer couldn't bring herself to fully enjoy having proved Catra wrong. She felt a twinge of unease.

Before she could worry about what that meant, there was a crashing sound from below. Catra looked up sharply, immediately suspicious. Glimmer’s stomach dropped as the original reason she had been here came back to her, having been overlooked in her determination to get one over on Catra.

The tower shook slightly and Catra threw herself at Glimmer, who teleported just out of reach. 

"What did you do?!"

There was a frantic knock at the door. "Catra! Get out of there, we're leaving!" called Scorpia. “And did I hear you say something about princesses?”

Catra scrambled up to look out the window. "You were distracting me." If there was hurt in her voice, it was well-buried.

"No!" Glimmer realised that she had inadvertently done exactly what she had feared Catra might do to her. And if she hadn't planned on trying it before, Glimmer had probably made it far more likely that she would in the future. "I didn't mean to." She was surprised at how much she wanted Catra to believe her.

Catra grabbed her clothes and pulled them on, shooting daggers at Glimmer and looking like she deeply wished to be ripping her to shreds, only the continued crashes outside and Scorpia's urgent warnings stopping her. Glimmer hurried to get her own clothes on before Catra had the chance. 

“I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you, Glimmer.”

This time hearing Catra use her name stung. “I'm sorry!”

“Right.” Catra went to the door and tapped a code into a control pad. Glimmer kept her eyes on Catra while she prepared to teleport out, wondering what kind of fight she would land in. Before Catra opened the door to leave she glanced casually over her shoulder at Glimmer.  “I owe you one, princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked them this way round! I certainly did. Comments and kudos are very welcome! 
> 
> I have a couple of bonus chapters for this fic planned! Hopefully I'll post them before S3, then any potential further chapters depend on what happens in new episodes. I'm kind of tempted to write a smutty, on-going, canon-parallel AU, but we'll see.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Catra can't sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catra here is a bit softer than she usually is when we see her in canon, but this is how I think she might be sometimes when she's alone. Gets a wee bit angsty at the end there.
> 
> Again, technically set between White Out and Reunion. 
> 
> Managed to finish this before season three! This is a short bonus chapter, I hope you enjoy it!

Catra couldn't sleep.

Prowling the Fright Zone corridors while the other soldiers slept wasn't unusual for her but tonight she hadn't even managed to sleep during the small hours of the morning, normally the only time her sleeping hours overlapped with theirs.

There was no getting away from the reason why: the stupid sparkly princess. 

Catra didn't like to think her name if she could help it, preferring to spit her title instead. Other than hating everything about her in principle, Catra hadn't given the princess much thought in particular before she tried her hand at taking Catra hostage. That  _ had  _ been fun. Her vicious streak had surprised Catra at first but after that it had occurred to her once or twice that Sparkles might have been better suited to the Horde’s side. And she was quite cute when she was grumpy. 

So when she had turned up at the Fright Zone practically begging for it, Catra had been more than happy to exploit that particular weakness, even if she had been left kicking herself for getting caught up in the moment. 

But when Glimmer had sought her out a second time, Catra had been dismayed to realise as soon as she appeared that she had been hoping for another round ever since she left. That was unfortunate. As was Glimmer keeping her cool just enough to outmanoeuvre her, though Catra couldn't help but be intrigued by an opponent willing to fight dirty.

Since then, brief images of her kept flitting across Catra’s mind and momentarily throwing her off her tasks.

_ Glimmer moaning between her legs, her cry muffled by Catra’s cunt. _

_ Sucked in breaths as Catra seized her with her claws. _

_ “Can you… please?” _

Catra clenched her fists to clear the image. She wanted to believe that all she wanted to do to the princess was to fuck her until she couldn't think straight and then use that to her own advantage. It seemed simple enough; she was pretty and willing, it would be a shame to pass up such a delightful opportunity, and Catra's utter detestation of her as the embodiment of unearned privilege and entitlement meant she almost vibrated with the desire to tear her life apart. Screwing her to screw her over was the obvious course of action. That was fine with Catra. Something was keeping her awake though and it certainly wasn’t any moral qualms.

Deciding to try one particular solution to frustration and wakefulness, Catra made her way to an older part of the building. Along a seldom-used corridor was a closet that had been overlooked by several upgrades and still had a mechanical rather than electronic door. It had become known as a hook-up spot among the older soldiers and at some point a bolt lock had been fitted on the inside. Thankfully she met no one else in the corridor - at this time of night no one would have any doubt about why someone would be in this part of the building - and the closet was empty. Catra darted inside and threw the bolt across.

She glanced around the small space cautiously; one never knew what state it would be in but tonight it seemed to be fine. The light from the corridor leaking through the gap around the door was enough for Catra to see by. A set of wire shelves with pieces of abandoned equipment was on one side and a low metal cabinet sat at the back. She dropped to sit on the ground with her back against the cabinet and tried to shake the note of shame and disappointment with herself that she always felt here. 

Well, she was here now. A flush of anticipation replaced her shame; this was one of the only times she really had to herself, she may as well enjoy it. She grinned. And she could do what she liked to the princess here. 

Shifting position to make herself as comfortable as possible on the hard floor, Catra ran her hand between her legs over her clothes and sighed. Her body already thrummed. She stroked a few more times and thought of fighting Glimmer, something that she had been using to fuel her imagination even before Glimmer had shown her hand. 

She was so easy to rile up and so cute when she was outraged; it made taunting her too tempting. And the way she clearly relished the odd moments she was on top saved it from becoming boring. As much as Catra resented the privilege it carried, she supposed she did enjoy that Glimmer's ability to instantly teleport almost made her a decent match for Catra's speed.

A wave of heat accompanied the thought of Glimmer’s loudest grunts of effort and Catra ceased her stroking to hurriedly pull her bodysuit and underwear down to tangle at her ankles before her slick could soak through the tight fabric. 

Returning to a favourite sequence of thoughts, Catra stoked her anger at the princess. It came fast and raw as always.

_ She cost me my only friend. _

_ She has had everything handed to her all her life. _

_ She doesn’t deserve any of it. _

Catra rubbed above her clit with determined purpose and thought of all the times the princess had squealed with distress when Catra had the better of her, or when she hit the ground, or when she struggled in vain against her. Anger spurred her on and she rubbed harder, frowning as she focused on directing every vindictive flare of pleasure at Glimmer.

The tension at Catra’s core continued to increase as she pictured Glimmer fighting hard and being beaten… until it faltered and her pleasure spluttered to a halt. Annoyed, Catra rubbed experimentally a few more times but to no avail. She growled.

“What? Ugh…” This had always worked before.

Catra groaned and fell back against the cabinet when she realised that this wasn’t doing it for her now that her more recent encounters with Glimmer had changed their standing. Well, fine - she could just think of those times instead. She ran her fingers either side of her stiff clit and brought a different set of images to mind. 

_ Glimmer’s helpless cries, forced from her by Catra’s fingers working inside her. _

_ The way she went weak beneath Catra’s teeth. _

_ Her mouth when she came. _

There, that was better. Catra didn’t like to admit to herself how much she had enjoyed Glimmer but while she was alone with her thoughts she sank into it, an easy warmth spreading through her alongside her returning arousal. She dipped her fingers briefly into her cunt and swirled them around her clit, moaning quietly.

Since it was just her and her imagination, Catra thought of how it might have been if Glimmer was here with her, sitting naked on the cabinet with Catra standing between her thighs, where Catra could take her time playing with her. Glimmer made such pretty faces even when they had gone at each other fast, they would probably be even better slowed down. And no one had to know how much Catra would have liked to see that.

_ Teasing her with fingers exploring outside her pussy before slipping them ever-so-slowly inside. _

_ Her face flitting from one soft expression to another with Catra’s every move. _

_ The shift of her breasts as her breathing began to quicken, looking needfully up at Catra. _

Thinking of Glimmer wanting her was just too good and Catra leaned into it, nipping her lip in concentration.

_ Glimmer being soaking wet for her. _

_ Glimmer making increasingly desperate whines; desperate for more of Catra. _

Catra held her breath and frowned as she reached a frantic pace. An undercurrent of alarm tugged at her but she was nearly there, if she could just find the visual she needed...

_ Glimmer bucking her hips against Catra’s fingers. _

Something about this was definitely off.

_ Glimmer pulling Catra closer as she trembled on the edge.  _

Wait, no. This was too much.

_ “Catra… Ah! Oh, Catra!” _

Catra recognised too late what it meant. She tried to divert her thoughts at the last second but was unable to stop her pleasure from overflowing until she was coming to the image of Glimmer crying out her name. With her shaking fingers pressed against her clit, it forced its way through her body and poured into the painfully hot joy at the thought of Glimmer truly wanting her. As Catra choked her way through her orgasm, with no option but to give in and let it tear into her, her desire tied itself to that idea inextricably.

The instant it passed Catra slammed her fist back against the cabinet. Then she curled up, hugging her knees to her chest, and waited for her breathing to return to normal.

She groaned softly. “Great.” She tried to resist the urge to dig her claws into her arms, as if that would leave no room for this feeling.

She liked Glimmer.

“Well, that’s not happening,” Catra muttered to herself sternly. She uncurled and sat with her legs crossed, preparing to think it over and give herself a pep talk.

Catra didn’t bother trying to convince herself that hating Glimmer meant she didn’t like her; she was well aware those feelings weren’t mutually exclusive. And the punch of realisation had been too strong to deny it to herself. She liked Glimmer and that would hurt her.

Catra thought back over recent events, hoping to find something to leverage to nip this in the bud. She was pretty sure Glimmer had got exactly what she wanted from Catra each time. She was beginning to think that the princess was the one who had used her despite Catra's cocky claims otherwise. Somehow that only made it worse - she had a grudging admiration for her for going after what she wanted in her own personal rebellion. 

Now that the idea was kicking openly around Catra’s mind, some basic part of her was automatically trying to figure out ways to be with her, irrationally ignoring the utter lack of feasibility. Catra spoke harshly to herself. “She doesn’t like me. Sure, maybe she thinks I’m hot,” - Catra was aware of how people saw her and had learned long ago that flirting was one of the more effective tools she had at her disposal - “but that’s it. She doesn’t know me. No one who knows me likes me.” Shadow Weaver, Adora, and now Catra could tell that Hordak was rejecting her too. “Scorpia only likes the version of me she wants to see.” 

Catra’s chest tightened in a horribly familiar way. She knew from bitter experience that her emotions tended to run strong and out of her control and only served to cut her again and again. She couldn’t afford to be left wide open like this. She had to kill this now.

She couldn’t let this thing with Glimmer ever happen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, Catra. The only feelings she gets to keep are angsty ones. All the more fun for me to play with later though! 
> 
> I'd love to hear if you liked this :) Kudos also very appreciated.
> 
> Busy life just now but next bonus chapter will be Glimmer’s solo one when I get it finished. Then I'll see what season three brings us!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Glimmer can't sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer’s turn! She loves some drama. Set at the same time as Catra's scene in the last chapter.
> 
> She’s wearing shorts because it’s her fantasy so she can wear whatever suits the situation! Also I spent way too long trying to work out how her clothes work in this setting so this is what happens.
> 
> This is a masturbation chapter so everything that actually happens is consensual but consent in the scenario described only comes from a lack of refusal. One brief mention each of hypothetical bloody violence and a dubcon scenario. Some injurious biting.
> 
> I really enjoyed writing in Glimmer's fantasy world!

Glimmer couldn’t sleep.

She had been tossing and turning for hours and now lay flat out on top of her bed, glowering at the ceiling and feeling like gears were jammed in her mind. She was very determinedly ignoring them and hoping sleep would finally come and untangle them.

_ "Aw, look at you." _

Glimmer wiggled on her pillows, annoyed by another reminder of the reason she hadn't opted to masturbate to try to help her sleep. Catra had become ubiquitous in her fantasies but thinking of her right now made the gears jam harder. Glimmer wasn't sure how to get around it.

She held a throw cushion over her face and screamed into it, at the end of her tether with frustration. Couldn't sleep because she couldn’t masturbate, couldn't masturbate because she couldn't think about Catra, couldn't think about Catra because… Whatever the reason was, it was completely obscured and Glimmer was unwilling to go there.

_ "Oh princess… Quite the tactical disadvantage you've got there." _

Glimmer hurled the cushion over the side of her bed. She kicked another one off for good measure. She had a splitting headache now - she would have to risk it. 

As soon as she made the decision, the tension in her forehead lifted and her frustration shifted to a hum of anticipation. Feeling like it was somehow a safer option by virtue of being further from reality, Glimmer brought up her imaginary rose-noir world where she was a powerful hero and Catra dripped glamour and seduction in a thigh-split dress.

_ After an impressive series of fights, Glimmer had made it to the centre of the base. Catra would be inside, coordinating her henchpeople from her lair. Glimmer was ready to take her down and teleported boldly inside. _

_ The room seemed empty but Glimmer stayed alert in her fighting stance. She knew Catra would be waiting for her; Catra’s personal vendetta against Glimmer meant she always orchestrated them meeting somehow during her schemes. _

_ Glimmer stepped towards the centre of the room, scanning for where Catra could be. The bubblegum pink room was a large semi-circle with a flat wall behind Glimmer and a sweeping curve ahead of her. A high-backed chair sat at the centre of the curve, facing the wall. Glimmer cautiously approached it.  _

_ “Catra.”  _

_ There was no response. Glimmer expected it to swivel to reveal Catra any second. Her heart beat faster as she got closer but she held her nerve to spin it around when she reached it. The chair was empty. Glimmer span immediately to look back the way she came. _

_ Catra stood in a doorway at the back of the room that Glimmer could have sworn wasn’t there before. She was draped casually against the doorframe, her pink robe trailing to the floor and her body all curves. A half-smile waited on her lips. _

_ “Catra! I’m here to end this.” _

_ “Oh good.” Catra lazily dragged herself away from the doorframe and strode towards Glimmer, her legs flashing through the high split in her black dress . When she was halfway across, Catra dropped her robe to the floor with a flourish to reveal her full silhouette, bold and dangerous against the pink room. The swing of her hips looked impossibly accentuated but it also seemed as if she couldn’t possibly cross a floor any other way.  _

_ Glimmer stayed ready as Catra approached. “Tell me where the other hostages are,” she demanded. Catra ignored her. Her smile intensified and darkened, pulling Glimmer in despite herself, until it was a leering smirk when she finally stopped inches from where Glimmer stood. Feeling herself assessed, Glimmer held her head high. _

Glimmer usually imagined Catra dramatically ravishing her in this world. Another favourite scenario was Catra sitting in the chair, knees apart and toes pointed in her heels, coercing Glimmer into going down on her by refusing to disarm a bomb on a countdown until Glimmer made her come. Occasionally she imagined their positions reversed, when Glimmer had out-flirted Catra (the details of which were always hazy and skipped over) and Catra showed off by making Glimmer scream in as few expert laps of her tongue as possible.

Glimmer touched herself absent-mindedly. Her elaborate fantasies of this femme fatale Catra were exciting but she had experienced the real-life version now. And it had been every bit as good as she’d imagined - in fact, even worse: it had been better. Catra had somehow been even more threatening than Glimmer had anticipated, though now Glimmer realised she had been naïve to expect otherwise. Of course Catra would have exploited Glimmer’s interest by pushing her until she found her weak spots.

_ Catra pressed her hand lightly to Glimmer’s chest and her claws caught the skin of her neck. Not digging in but enough that Glimmer was aware that the sharp points could pierce her and have her soaked in blood in a heartbeat. Catra pushed gently and Glimmer stepped back, too stunned to resist, until she was pressed against the curved wall, which seemed to be made of cold, smooth glass. _

Glimmer gave an irritated whine. Although she was always desperate to be properly challenged, Glimmer hadn’t even been fully aware of that particular weak spot, that overwhelming desire for the pain Catra was so keen to inflict, and it both excited and alarmed her that Catra had figured it out so quickly. She seemed to intuitively know exactly how to manipulate her. Glimmer squirmed uncomfortably. The thought made her anxious but she couldn’t deny the irresistible surge in arousal that accompanied it. She reluctantly rubbed her whole hand over her clit as the painful ache became too much. Her slick was suddenly everywhere and she arched her back as she passed her slick-covered palm over her clit again.

_ Catra’s gaze flicked to Glimmer’s mouth and she seemed to hesitate - _

Glimmer flinched. She absolutely refused to think of Catra of being capable of any emotion other than hard and cynical ones. She tried again.

_ Never taking her eyes off Glimmer’s face, Catra took Glimmer’s wrist in her free hand. She brought it up between them and with a lewdly open mouth ran her tongue from Glimmer’s wrist to the back of her hand. Glimmer scowled in disgust at the line she trailed over her sleeve. But she didn’t pull her hand away. Catra licked slowly between Glimmer’s fingers, daring Glimmer to stop her, but she could only watch the slip and flick of Catra’s manipulative tongue.  _

_ Catra spoke with her lips still pressed against Glimmer’s fingers. “Not so chatty now… Cat got your tongue?” _

_ Glimmer was determined not to let herself give in that easily. She shook off her surprise and lashed out at Catra with a blast of light. “I won’t let you get away with this!” Catra was knocked back but barely batted an eyelid before she was on Glimmer again. Glimmer teleported to dodge but after an embarrassingly brief tussle Glimmer was against the cold wall again, this time with her face on the glass and Catra pressed casually against her back. Just as she was about to teleport out to try again, Glimmer froze when she felt Catra’s breath on her neck. Catra held her waist lightly but it was the sense of Catra’s teeth near her skin that held Glimmer in place. _

Glimmer groaned and accepted that this was what she was going to have to imagine. She opened up to the sense of unease and traced her fingers urgently around her clit.

_ Catra stepped backwards and massaged lazy circles on Glimmer’s back, under her jacket. “So tight, princess.” Glimmer’s breaths came faster, the glass by her mouth clouding and clearing in quick succession. Catra slid her hands down to Glimmer’s hips and pulled them sharply away from the wall. Glimmer let Catra move her around, the voice in the back of her head drowned out by half-formed thoughts of what Catra could do to her. Catra reached around with one hand to unfasten Glimmer’s shorts. “Are you like that all over?” Glimmer could see her own reflection in the pink surface and watched her expression crumble when Catra’s fingers found her cunt. Her cheeks burned when Catra gave a purr of approval at Glimmer’s obvious arousal. _

_ Catra pushed two fingers inside Glimmer and deliberately made several loud schliks. “All this for me?” Glimmer sighed weakly at the feeling of Catra inside her, with her lips brushing the cold glass. “You really shouldn’t have.” _

_ Catra moved her fingers back to Glimmer’s clit and with several soft flicks had Glimmer gasping helplessly. Despite her hatred of Catra, she wanted her, she always wanted her, and knew she had been too ready for this. _

_ “That didn’t take long,” mused Catra. “One might even think,” she continued as Glimmer gave another troubled sigh, “that this is what you really wanted when you came here. Let’s find out, shall we?” _

_ At that, opaque pink blinds on the outside of the glass moved up until the entire wall became a panoramic window overlooking the mountainous landscape that surrounded Catra’s compound. In a clearing surrounded on most sides by cliff faces was a small group: members of the Princess Alliance and several hostages they had already managed to free. As planned, they were waiting for Glimmer’s signal to return for the remainder of the hostages once she had taken Catra out. Glimmer’s heart stopped when she saw why Catra was showing her this. Poised on the cliff tops above the group were dozens of Catra’s mercenaries, bristling with weapons. Even with their powers, the princesses’ chances of winning a fight against them, outnumbered, with no warning, without Glimmer and with hostages to protect, were slim to none. _

_ “No,” Glimmer breathed. _

_ “Oh yes.” _

_ Glimmer realised that this whole hostage situation had been a setup for this. For her. She wanted to push Catra away and take her down but more than that she wanted her attention. Catra stroked her fingers either side of Glimmer’s clit and waited, resting her cheek patiently on the back of Glimmer’s shoulder in a way that might have seemed demure if she didn’t have her hand down her shorts, coaxing her arousal. The thrill of feeling worthy of Catra’s effort was too tempting to refuse and a whimper from Glimmer gave that away. _

_ “You - you’re bluffing!” Glimmer managed valiantly, her words ringing hollow even to her own ears. _

_ Catra gave a low, liquid laugh, the location of her voice close to Glimmer’s neck making her shiver. _

_ Glimmer knew that teleporting out to the clearing was the only way to save them. If she did nothing they would be taken by surprise and overcome. She tried to make herself care enough to tear herself away. But her body was on fire and Catra’s teeth were so close to her. All she wanted was for Catra’s fingers to keep drawing up that fire with her fingers; just a moment or two longer was all she needed. Glimmer couldn’t think about anything else. She couldn’t remember why she’d even want to. _

Glimmer held her breath and twisted her sheets in her free hand. She shook with tension as she kept the pace of her fingers steady, desperate but scared to stay with her thoughts.

_ The mercenaries were preparing to drop into the clearing. “Go on, tell me to stop,” Catra challenged, nuzzling her mouth between Glimmer’s jacket collar and her neck. Glimmer felt the heat of her breath again through the fabric of her top and her skin prickled. In a silky sweet voice, Catra added, “I promise I will.” _

_ The interruption snapped Glimmer out of her haze enough for her to consider trying again to do the right thing. She believed Catra would stop if she asked, if only because Glimmer’s willing compliance was part of the game for her. She could still teleport out to protect her friends and the innocent people. She rallied her willpower and tried to block out her arousal despite Catra continuing to build it up. The mercenaries were beginning to rapidly descend the cliffs; now was her last chance to save them. Catra touched her canines to Glimmer’s neck and scratched her through the fabric. Glimmer whimpered desperately, trembling against the glass and trying to fight it.  _

_ Catra pressed down harder until the points of her teeth pierced Glimmer’s skin and she took in the pain with a silent gasp, letting it shoot through her until couldn’t help herself any longer. She thrust against Catra’s fingers at the same time as screams of terror began outside and gave a soft cry of pleasure and anguish as she started to come in Catra’s hand. While the princesses tried in vain to fight the mercenaries, Glimmer let her orgasm take control of her body, soaking it up while the Alliance and the freed hostages were overwhelmed. She allowed her guilt to batter her along with her pleasure. Glimmer’s mouth slipped on the glass that was now wet with condensation as she moaned and panted for Catra, knowing that was what she wanted and hating how much she enjoyed pleasing her. Glimmer kept grinding against her fingers, running out of breath to moan with as she gave Catra everything while watching her cause lose. _

Glimmer let her hand fall to her side and took a few deep breaths until her heart rate started to return to normal. After one last sigh of relief, she pulled the covers over herself and curled up, melting easily into her pillows. Now that she had let the storm of her worries pass through her mind, they had burned themselves out and left her in peace. 

For now anyway. Allowing herself to acknowledge her thoughts had revealed what she feared: that one day Glimmer might betray the Rebellion by failing to resist Catra. No matter how truly willing she was to take Catra down, the fear that her impulsivity combined with Catra’s provocations could unravel everything she worked for remained. As she finally relaxed into sleep, she understood that she had to take precautions against that happening. Reluctantly, because playing with danger had been exciting while it lasted, she knew she would have to reign in her thoughtless lust for Catra.

She couldn’t let this thing with Catra ever happen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy Glimmer knows how to work through her fears in style. This was so much fun to write! So much fun, in fact, that I drafted a whole other PWP fic set in Glimmer’s world. (Update: [here it is!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21295559)) Sorry not sorry for saying "cat got your tongue?" - I think Glimmer-vision Catra would definitely say that!
> 
> As always, I _love_ comments and kudos, if you liked this and would like to leave any.
> 
> I drew art for this chapter! [Here it is on my twitter](https://twitter.com/teaandsmut/status/1164234350113808384).
> 
> I know some plot-esque stuff is starting to creep in already, but essentially this is where this fic changes from PWP to fuck-first-feelings-later slow burn canon-parallel AU. So if you were here for 100% porn, this might be the point for you to stop as I’m going to be trying my best to keep them apart until the end from now on. Can’t promise my hand won’t slip once or twice before then though… Or that their hands won’t. They’re both just so easy to rile up.
> 
> But if a smutty “what if Glimmer and Catra fell for each other over the course of the whole show” fic appeals to you, then subscribe to this fic or follow me somewhere and join me for that! Next chapter will be the Glitra edition of season three, with no smut but with Tension and Feelings.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 3 Glitra edition part 1!
> 
> This chapter and the next one are a re-imagining of season 3 if it had followed on from the events in this fic. I'm planning to continue along these lines for future seasons.
> 
> No smut in these two chapters, fyi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: Paralysis and being injured while incapacitated, being unable to wake from drugged lucid dreaming, brief description of bloody violence, emotional self-harm.
> 
> Thanks to [TaigaRose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaigaRose/pseuds/TaigaRose) for giving this a read through!

“I told you, I just need to talk to her.”

“Uugghhhhdora! Shadow Weaver  _ will _ try to hurt you again.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes, I do! She’s from the Horde. She’s  _ evil. _ Evil people don’t change.”

Glimmer heard her voice go shrill and bit her tongue when she realised why. Since she had accepted how reckless she had been in pursuing Catra, she was determined not to let herself continue down that path. 

Glimmer’s mind continued to turn to Catra at the most inopportune times. Alone in her room when she saw the fading marks across her chest, understandably, but also for no apparent reason in the middle of conversations. It seemed like whenever her concentration slipped, Catra was there waiting. Glimmer felt a tug at her gut and a thrill through her veins every time. Worst was when Adora was sharing stories of her time in the Horde. Adora rarely mentioned Catra directly in those tales, she looked too sad to continue when she did, but Glimmer knew she must have been there, being more than the one-dimensional ball of fury Glimmer needed to think of her as.

Glimmer had invested heavily in the narrative that the Horde was pure evil and berated herself with that story every time she thought of Catra, hoping that her guilt would eventually outweigh those thoughts. She had to be a responsible leader. And that meant getting over this… whatever it was she felt towards Catra. Glimmer wouldn’t call it a crush, she didn’t know Catra well enough for that and didn’t intend to. 

More likely it was just the idea of Catra that appealed to her. That made sense. It was just a silly fantasy about a forbidden bad girl. Who was confident, powerful, and willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants - it was perfectly reasonable to find her intriguing, Glimmer reassured herself. It would pass. Glimmer just had to make sure she didn’t do anything rash in the meantime.

Adora’s insistence that she could handle Shadow Weaver, that Shadow Weaver was capable of change, made Glimmer uncomfortable. People from the Horde were too skilled at manipulation; they were best avoided. Believing anything else was foolish. 

 

When they set off searching for answers about Adora's past after Shadow Weaver's revelation that she was a First One, Glimmer was determined to make it through this mission with no distractions. She was going to prove to herself she could do it.

While they were trekking through the eerie desert of the Crimson Waste, Adora chatted about the drills she had been put through in the Horde. 

"They would wake us up in the middle of the night and pour freezing water over the last person to be dressed," said Adora, sounding amused and almost proud, presumably never having been the one to suffer that punishment, before she caught herself. "I mean… it was pretty awful." 

"I bet Catra hated that!" Glimmer nearly clamped her hand over her mouth but tried to pass it off as a normal thing to say.

"Uh…" Adora was confused for a second. "She was usually already awake, she's kind of nocturnal."

"Sorry, I know you don't like to talk about her."

"It's okay. It's just so hard to accept that I couldn't make her see what’s right.” 

Glimmer wasn’t sure ‘right and wrong’ was something that Catra particularly concerned herself with but she didn’t think Adora would appreciate that input right now. And there was the small matter of Adora having no idea why Glimmer would have any new insight into Catra. She wanted to ask if Adora thought Catra was capable of change like she hoped Shadow Weaver was but Glimmer didn’t really want to know the answer. Instead, she found herself blurting out a question she wanted to know the answer to even less. “What was she like before?”

The question took Adora by surprise. “She was… wild. Cheeky. Always in trouble. I suppose that wasn’t always completely her fault though.” Adora quickly replaced her look of sadness with one of anger. “But that doesn’t mean she can’t see that what she’s doing now is wrong!”

“That’s right!” Glimmer jumped on that idea. “She knows the Horde is evil now, like you do, and she’s only gotten worse!” Her voice went high again and she hoped her friends wouldn’t notice.

“What’s gotten into you, Glimmer?” asked Bow.

“Nothing!”

Adora went quiet for a moment. “I think you two might have got along, in another life,” Adora said to Glimmer. “Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if we hadn’t been raised in the Horde, or if Catra had left too.”

“Well, don’t!” said Glimmer. Now Adora as well as Bow looked at Glimmer with concern. Glimmer added in a gentler tone, “You can’t dwell on ‘what ifs’. We have to move forward. We’ve got each other, that’s what’s important.”

Adora smiled and they continued on their expedition through the Crimson Waste. Glimmer’s stomach churned.  _ So much for no distractions. _

* * *

A knife twisted in Catra's gut the instant she heard of a sparkly girl and a blonde in the Crimson Waste. She was almost used to the frustration of Adora ruining things for her by now but the rush that followed the mention of the Bright Moon princess confirmed her failure to quash her feelings towards her.

Until now, Catra had hoped that she had caught those feelings in time before they had fully taken root. Between Shadow Weaver fueling and then dashing Catra’s hopes for approval, her terror after letting her escape, and Hordak practically condemning her to death, Catra had been left with blessedly little time to think about Glimmer. 

Catra still thought she had it under control as she made her way through the tedious expanse of the Crimson Waste, even as an unexamined thrill lit up Catra’s mind and flipped her stomach several times a day. It was the only thing that cut through the numbness that was the aftermath of being screwed over by Shadow Weaver and Hordak. Catra knew exactly what it was but figured it would burn itself out soon if she ignored it hard enough. It was nothing she couldn’t handle.

But when Catra was forced to think directly about Glimmer again upon overhearing her description in the sketchy watering hole, the kick was too intense to write off as a mere shallow infatuation. Catra was instantly flooded with elation over the possibility of seeing her again. It went too deep this time. She automatically pushed down that pointless feeling and found that she welcomed the sharp edge of pain that swiftly followed. 

It was enough to snap Catra out of her ennui. She was done with letting fear of her emotions stop her doing anything. The suffocating terror and hurt when Adora left, the devastation of  Shadow Weaver and Hordak’s constant knock-backs, the frustration of never being recognised: she had lived through them all, she had survived the pain, and she was ready to rise above them.

After Catra explained the futility of trying to threaten her to the bar full of miscreants and convinced them to lead her in the direction that Adora and her friends had gone, she felt like she was finally coming into her real power. This was the way forward, just letting all those feelings blast her and not giving a fuck. She was better than that. As her little band made their way through the Waste, her casual meanness came more easily.

Whenever upset threatened to come to the surface, Catra leaned on her freshest source of pain. She pictured Glimmer and let whatever part of her imagination was detached from reality run away with thoughts of her, of impossible scenarios that she was embarrassed to even come up with. Then with grim satisfaction she would tear those thoughts down, harshly reminding herself of the truth, and the pain that followed would overwhelm her until whatever softness threatened to throw her off her goals was burned away.

 

When all of Tung Lashor’s former followers eagerly awaited Catra’s commands after she defeated him, Catra was more than ready to be the ruthless leader they sought.  _ This is more like it, _ Catra thought as several of them clamoured to be the one to suggest the mysterious unearthed ship as the best option to hunt for First Ones’ tech. 

The power high was enough to make any lingering thoughts of Glimmer small and insignificant. She felt more free than she had in weeks as the gang made their way to the ship. She could do  _ anything. _

Upon arriving in the first chamber of the massive ship, Catra was ready to turn on the closest unfortunate soul to demand an explanation for its emptiness but an exclamation of “This door was never here before!” made her halt.

“Shut up, all of you!” hissed Catra. This had Adora written all over it. Catra scowled. Of course she got here first. But swooping in at the last second to steal the prize after Adora did all the hard work was fine with Catra.

She motioned for the others to wait where they were while she approached the open doorway, ears angled to catch every sound. As she crept closer she heard a broken-up recorded voice she didn’t recognise.

“How could it go so wrong? Lighthope used the --- can’t --- weapon.”

Then a voice Catra did recognise. “What weapon?! Bow, how’s it going? Have you fixed it yet?” said Adora. 

Catra grinned. She backed away and motioned to now-known-as-Kyle and their four-armed companion. Catra whispered instructions and silenced them with a glare when they looked like they were about to question her.

Catra put a finger to her lips to quiet the rest of the gang then beckoned them to follow her into the next chamber.

The voice Catra didn’t recognise, coming from a hologram projection sitting in the pilot's chair, was whining away about something. “I never wanted to be a hero. I won’t be remembered as one.” Catra rolled her eyes. The self-important tone reminded her of Adora. An alarm went off in the recorded message and Catra’s gang moved closer under the cover of the loud sound. Catra could see Adora and her friends now. She stared hard at Glimmer from the darkness, daring herself to feel anything other than violent intent. She couldn’t stop her tail lashing in anticipation as all her senses heightened in the hunt. She was ready to prove to herself that she wouldn’t let the Bright Moon princess stop her from getting what she wanted.

The hologram was still talking. “You have the sword now. It is the administrative key to our planet. With it you can activate a portal.”  _ Jackpot. So the sword is what I need.  _ Catra could feel victory within her grasp. The hologram went on, sounding increasingly distressed about whatever was such a big deal. “If you open a portal, death and destruction will follow. For the good of the universe, Etheria must stay in Despondos. If not, everyone will-”

Silence fell as the hologram message abruptly ended.  _ There's my cue.  _ Catra began a slow clap from the shadows and the assembled party searched for the source.

“Who’s there? Come out and face Huntara," said the muscular woman Catra had heard fearful reference to during her time in the Waste. Bow fell to the ground as he was hit with a dart but Huntara blocked the dart aimed at Adora with her weapon.  _ Damn. That would have been satisfying.  _

Adora and Glimmer raised their fists when Catra's followers stepped into the light and Catra was briefly sorry that she wouldn't get to fight with Glimmer; she really was fun.

“You two joined Tung Lashor?” Huntara asked Catra's new followers.

“They haven’t joined  _ him. _ They joined me.” Catra stepped forward to reveal herself and heard Glimmer’s gasp. Catra leaned casually on the hologram woman's chair, playing up to the drama of it all. "Hey, A-"

Glimmer yelled in outrage and ran into a teleport. She reappeared by Catra and flew at her, exactly as Catra had hoped. Catra flattened herself back against the chair to dodge her fist and grabbed Glimmer’s top to spin her around using her own momentum. Catra slammed Glimmer against the high-backed chair with one arm. Glimmer’s face was full of rage before her expression slackened. She tried to teleport but only sparked erratic pink light and stayed in place. She struggled in drowsy confusion until Catra smiled and opened her other hand to reveal the paralysing dart she had concealed, now sticking into Glimmer's hip.

"Glimmer!" cried Adora. Catra ignored her, not taking her eyes off Glimmer while her followers advanced on Adora and Huntara.

Glimmer tried and failed to speak as she strained against the toxin. Then she slumped back against the chair, her head lolling forward and her eyes half-closed. Catra held her up with her fist balled in Glimmer's top. She felt calm as she watched Glimmer’s consciousness fading. Glimmer tried again to teleport but only shimmered a little. "Aww…" Catra stroked her cheek and Glimmer lifted her heavy eyes to meet Catra’s. "You're malfunctioning. That's no fun,” Catra pouted. “Goodnight, Sparkles." 

As Glimmer fell completely unconscious, she started to slide down the side of the chair. Catra almost acted on her first instinct to catch Glimmer and break her fall. But she realised her mistake in time and cast roughly Glimmer aside, repulsed at Glimmer and herself. Glimmer crumpled to the floor. Catra stepped over her without a backwards glance and turned to look for the sword. 

Adora already had it and was attempting her silly catchphrase.  _ Oh no you don't.  _ Catra snatched it away with her whip and Scorpia caught Adora before she could do anything else. With the sword in her hands and Adora neutralised, Catra hid her relief with a smug smile.

As Huntara struggled back up, two darts now in her chest, Adora called to her. “Huntara! Get them out!” Huntara groaned as she picked Bow up and launched past Catra to swoop down and collect Glimmer. Catra didn’t fancy her chances at blocking her but was appalled at Glimmer being taken away from her so soon. Although Catra had decided that fucking Glimmer again carried too high a risk of exacerbating Catra’s crush on her, the thought of playing with an imprisoned Glimmer in other ways was tempting.

“Stop her!” Catra shouted as Huntara staggered away with Glimmer under her arm.

* * *

Catra was scratching slow, deep lines into Glimmer's flesh. Across her arms, her torso, her thighs, careful and methodical. Catra’s face was blank. Glimmer tried to pull away, feeling strangely detached, but couldn't move from where she lay on the ground.  _ Oh, this isn't real. Why am I not waking up?  _ She wanted to make Catra stop and tell her to dig in harder at the same time, even though Glimmer could already feel hot blood running from her wounds. No pain though, which gave Glimmer a sense of invincibility. She couldn't tell if she liked that. But she couldn’t move or speak to tell Catra either way, stop or go harder.  _ Alright, that's enough. I want to wake up now.  _ Although Glimmer could make herself feel the real, cold ground she slept on, the image of Catra patiently inflicting serious damage on her body didn't fade at all. Panic rose as she realised she was trapped in the vision.

_Wake up!_ Glimmer tried to shake herself awake but all that happened was that Catra tilted her head and stopped her eerily measured scratching. She pulled Glimmer tenderly close and lapped carefully at her wounds. She moved Glimmer’s limp body around to soothe all the raw lines she had torn. Her face was still a mask whenever Glimmer caught a glimpse of it. Glimmer felt like she was watching a surreal show that she had no choice but to continue to witness. Then Catra licked too hard, too deep into a cut and Glimmer felt every awful, vivid detail. _Urgh! Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up._ Glimmer was horrified. She could feel the pain now, like it was real, bright lines across her immobile body as she was simultaneously suspended in her vision and lying on rocky ground. It reverberated through her and magnified in intensity until she screamed and blacked out.

With her scream still ringing in her ears, Glimmer found herself in a new vision. Catra was gone. Glimmer could move again. Then she saw her own body lying unconscious on the ground at her feet.  _ This isn’t real, it isn’t real, you can pull yourself out of this. Just concentrate on the real things you can feel. Your body is shivering. There is a rock digging into your back. Your hip aches. You can move. Come on, just do it.  _ Glimmer looked down at the body she inhabited in the vision. A black dress. A plunging neckline. Glimmer’s breathing sped up with every detail. High heels. A pink robe draped around her arms.  _ No, not this. _ A flash of her thigh through the split in her dress as she stepped over the form on the ground that looked like her and her reality wrenched apart and she was shaking and sweating and cold and wide awake beneath the trees of the Whispering Woods. She cast about for an anchor in the real world, feeling like her vision was still playing out right behind a veil, waiting for her to fall back in.

“So you’re one of the unlucky ones.”

Glimmer sat up and stared at Huntara, who was at the edge of the clearing keeping watch. Glimmer still felt like the parallel world was right there behind her eyelids.

When Glimmer said nothing, Huntara continued. “Not everyone gets the visions. It happens sometimes with the toxin in the paralysing darts. The effect should wear off soon.”

The grogginess was beginning to lift and Glimmer started to feel a little more firmly back in reality. Bow stirred in his sleep where he was propped up against a tree trunk beside her. “Why didn’t it happen last time?” asked Glimmer. When she had woken up after being darted during Huntara’s earlier ambush, Glimmer had felt unsettled but experienced nothing like this.

“It’s more common if you’re in a heightened emotional state,” Huntara shrugged. “Not something I know a lot about.”

Glimmer tried to think back, though her mind was still hazy and her body felt weak. Then she remembered. Catra. Paralysing her, taunting her, discarding her. Being powerless in her grasp before she fell unconscious. A toxic thrill as she considered her visions, still perfectly clear in her mind. Tears began to trickle down her face, almost without her noticing. “What do they mean?” she asked, sniffling and hating how pathetic she sounded.

“There’s an old superstition about the plants that the toxin comes from, saying that drinking tea from its leaves will show you...” Huntara trailed off and frowned to herself. “I say it just shows mixed-up thoughts that mean nothing and it does no good to dwell on them.” Her tone indicated she was done with that topic.

Glimmer gasped when she realised what else was wrong here. “Where’s Adora?!”

“They’ve got her. She wanted me to get you two out. She was alive when I last saw her.” Huntara spoke in a clipped voice.

Glimmer broke down then, horrified at herself for not having noticed and for the way the visions pulled at her. She sobbed in confusion, entirely unable to pull herself back together. Huntara scowled, then tried to adopt a look of sympathy. “I’m not so great at comforting. That seems more like your friend there’s area. He’s been drifting in and out for a while now.”

_ Bow. Someone who thinks I’m a good person.  _ Glimmer dragged herself towards him to sob into his chest. He woke enough to wrap his arms around her. “Don’t worry… We’ll get Adora back…” he said drowsily before falling unconscious again. Glimmer cried harder and fought to stay awake, terrified of what waited for her if she failed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying this version of season 3! 
> 
> This takes us to the end of S03E03 Once Upon a Time in the Waste. The rest of the season (with more canon divergence than this one) follows in the next chapter and has a whole section that was one of my favourite things to write ever.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 3 Glitra edition part 2!

In the end, it was almost easy to take Shadow Weaver’s hand.

Glimmer was sick of being made to feel small and incompetent, sick of not being trusted, sick of having no say in decisions, sick of having secrets kept from her. Accepting Shadow Weaver’s dubious assistance in reaching the Fright Zone to rescue Adora and prevent the portal from being opened felt like the best out of a limited set of options.

But what made Glimmer grasp the opportunity wholeheartedly was that she knew Catra would never turn down the opportunity for more power.

 

_ Just when I thought Shadow Weaver had run out of ways to  hurt me.  _ Catra felt like her chest instantly caved in upon seeing Shadow Weaver and Glimmer together in the Fright Zone corridor. A lifetime of abuse, using her, betraying her, rejecting her for Adora and now this. She was even willing to join forces with princesses over her. And she couldn’t have chosen a better one to rub salt in Catra’s wounds.

 

At first, Glimmer couldn’t deny that the added power felt good. She was strong and capable, she was being challenged and she was handling it, she was  _ thriving. _ An undercurrent of cold, overeager excitement came with her new power and Glimmer welcomed it. Why shouldn’t she? She was seizing control in a way she never had before in all her secret rebellions.  

When Catra found them in the Fright Zone corridor, Glimmer was determined not to waver. Her recent history with Catra wouldn’t distract her, this was too important. But the cry of anguish Catra gave when Shadow Weaver floored Catra with magic was unlike any Glimmer had heard her make before. Catra writhed in pain, curled into a ball, and Glimmer found herself leaning towards her with concern. Surely this was unnecessarily cruel; Shadow Weaver only needed to restrain her.

Glimmer was filled with horror when Shadow Weaver lifted Catra into the air, binding Catra with shadows despite her terrified squeals and grunts as she struggled to free herself. As Shadow Weaver smoothly taunted Catra until she broke down, Glimmer started to understand the degree of torture that Catra must have lived through. If this was how easily the apparently fearless Catra could be reduced to sobbing by her mentor, Glimmer couldn’t imagine what her upbringing had been like. It was impossible not to hear the depth of hurt in her voice when she tried to make Shadow Weaver see her side. 

Glimmer's anger at Catra briefly returned as she voiced her intention to open the portal. Then Shadow Weaver began to draw on Glimmer’s power and used their combined magic to make Catra double over in agony. Glimmer’s tough intentions collapsed; she hadn’t expected her own power to be used like this. Shadow Weaver took more until Catra screamed and it was too much for Glimmer.  _ This isn’t me, this cruelty.  _ Despite all her misgivings, right now her heart bled for Catra. Glimmer fell to the ground, distraught and desperate to be free from this awful contract.

Glimmer snatched her hand back when Bow intervened. The new Catra before her, one Glimmer could no longer see in the simplistic way she wished to, was now sprawled on the floor and looked set to continue her desperate fight before she was whisked away by a more level-headed colleague. Until Glimmer gathered her thoughts and remembered what Catra was running off to do, Glimmer wanted nothing more than to beg Catra to forgive her.

 

Catra was drowning.

She was surrounded by sources of relentless pain, cornered and alone. It was intolerable. Opening a potentially world-destroying portal seemed vastly preferable to this. She wanted to stop feeling. She wanted to stop everything. No, that wasn't enough; she wanted to make them all feel like this. She wanted to crush everyone who did this to her. She wanted to show them all what she was capable of.

She pulled the switch.

* * *

"Look, her hair is sparkly!"

"Hey! Let go!"

"Ow! Get hold of her arms. Let's teach the princess how things work around here."

Several blows landing. A high grunt of effort followed by a harder sound and an angry shout.

Catra was fully awake by now, annoyed at whoever had ended her nap by fighting underneath the heated overhead air duct she had slept on. She peered over the edge, curious but unwilling to get involved.

A furious cadet with pink and sparkly purple hair was surrounded by a group. One held her arms behind her back while the rest attempted to hit her. She kept wriggling and kicking so much that they were struggling to land any, though the new cadet seemed to have better luck - one of her attackers was nursing a bleeding nose. The sparkly-haired woman gave a roar and jumped to tuck her legs up, now suspended by the person holding her arms, then kicked the nearest person hard in the chest with both feet. They staggered back, clutching their ribs, and Catra was impressed at the amount of damage the new cadet had been able to inflict despite being so outnumbered.

_ “Bitch.  _ Come on, just leave her. She’ll learn soon enough.” The woman was dropped to the floor. She scrambled to stand and glare after the group as they left, laughing and calling threats at her.

Catra was intrigued. She dropped down from where she hid overhead. The new cadet jumped and immediately raised her fists.

Catra held up her hands. “Hey, I’m not interested in tormenting the newbies. You are new, right?”

“Yeah,” she replied, sounding like she was daring Catra to have anything more to say about it. She cautiously lowered her fists but continued to glare suspiciously at Catra.

_ Huh, cute.  _ Catra realised she’d hesitated a little too long. “Uh… I’m Catra.”

“Glimmer.”

“That looks sore,” said Catra, noticing bloody scratches on Glimmer’s cheek.

“It’s fine.” Glimmer shrank back when Catra reached for her, trying to check the cuts.

“Let me take you to the infirmary, it’ll get infected otherwise,” Catra was surprised to hear herself say.  _ I guess she doesn’t already know I’m awful. _

Glimmer considered Catra for a second. “Okay. Thank you.”

Catra smiled at her and led the way, feeling rather self-important.

“Don’t worry about them,” said Catra as they set off. “It happens to me all the time. Most people usually just curl up and take it then they’ll leave you alone.”

Glimmer raised an eyebrow at Catra. “Is that what you do?”

“No.”

“Well then.”

As they went through the corridors of the Fright Zone, Catra tried to get a better look at the new recruit. She was wearing the standard cadet uniform but she didn’t look like anyone else in the Horde. Not with hair like that.

“They called you a princess - is that true?”

“Yes. Well, I was. I don’t know if I still am.” Glimmer tugged the edges of her uniform uncomfortably.

“What are you doing here then? Don’t you know we spend all our time training to defeat princesses?”

“I… I must have left. I was never allowed to do  _ anything.  _ It was so frustrating!” Glimmer stopped walking abruptly and her eyes took on a faraway look. She shook her head. “Uh… I guess I had a fight with my mother? I’ve always wanted to prove myself, maybe I thought here was the best place to do that?”

“You sure about that?” Catra didn’t understand why she seemed so confused.

“I can’t remember it that well…”

“Well, fighting like that, you definitely belong here with us!” said Catra, deciding not to worry too much about the former princess’s uncertain story. Having the chance at a clean slate with a potential new friend seemed too perfect an opportunity to question.

 When they reached the infirmary, Glimmer marched up to press the buzzer by the door.

“Wait!” said Catra, grabbing her wrist.

“What? Why?”

“They record every injury, you don’t want to let them know you were hurt. It doesn’t look good for you if it happens too often.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t worry, I know how to get what we need.” Catra grinned at Glimmer, showing off.

Then she was sitting on the floor in one of her favourite quiet corners of the Fright Zone with Glimmer, cotton wool and a bottle of alcohol in her hands.  _ Huh, that was weird. _ Catra’s usual approach to stealing from the infirmary was to follow someone through the doors and hide under a bed until she had a clear run at the first aid cabinet. The chance of getting caught was high but it was a necessary risk when she was always in so many scraps. But right now she had no memory of acquiring the supplies.

“Catra? Is everything okay?”

“Uh…” The minutes of missing time were disconcerting but now that Glimmer was kneeling earnestly in front of her waiting for Catra to help her, it didn’t seem to matter anymore. “Yeah, perfect! Let’s sort your cuts out. Hold still.”

Catra held Glimmer’s jaw lightly to get a better look at the graze on her cheek. “Okay, this will-” Catra trailed off when she met Glimmer’s eyes and found her staring back. She hadn’t realised she was leaning so close to Glimmer. Catra cleared her throat and looked back at Glimmer’s cheek. “-uh, sting.”

Glimmer set her jaw defiantly and refused to cry out even as she winced when Catra rubbed the alcohol-soaked cotton wool over her injury. An image of Glimmer snarling and furiously holding back from striking her flashed across Catra’s mind. Catra frowned and concentrated on carefully cleaning the wounds on Glimmer’s face, trying to ignore whatever that image was. A quiet whimper escaped Glimmer as one of the cuts started bleeding again.

Sucking in a breath to steady herself, Glimmer started chatting to Catra in at attempt to distract herself from the pain. “It’s really nice of you to help me like this.”

“Eh. Don’t mention it,” Catra shrugged.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be? People here always seem to be rushing somewhere.”

“Don’t  _ you  _ have somewhere to be?” Catra fired back, scowling and accidentally pressing a little too hard with the cotton wool.

“Ow!”

“Sorry.”

“And I probably am supposed to be somewhere… I keep getting lost; I was asking those cadets for directions.”

Catra nodded. She carefully applied a few surgical strips to Glimmer’s cuts then sat back to admire her handiwork. “There! That’ll heal up fine.” Glimmer beamed at her and Catra felt herself blush. “And yeah, I’m definitely supposed to be somewhere else,” said Catra with dismissive bravado. “I kind of do what I like around here.”

“Oh really?” asked Glimmer with a wry smile.

“Uh, yeah, really.” Catra stuck her tongue out at Glimmer. “And my fr-” Catra stopped. She didn’t want to mention Adora just yet. Everyone always liked her more. For once it would be nice to have someone like Catra best.

Before Catra could think of a way to distract from her omission, another image forced its way into Catra’s mind. This time it was dark with flashing lights, Catra was furious and turned on, and Glimmer was sighing as Catra dragged her teeth across the soft skin of her neck. It felt so real she could taste her. The image faded and Catra’s heart raced as she saw that Glimmer was now touching her neck in shock and confusion. Catra swallowed, inexplicably desperate to forget about whatever had inspired that vision.

Catra jumped up and reached out a hand to Glimmer, who looked up at her with wide eyes. “Come on, I’ll show you some good hiding places. Looks like you might need them if you’re going to get into fights so easily.” Glimmer took her hand and followed her wordlessly.

 

Catra didn’t see Glimmer for a few days after that, though a vague sense of the princess followed her around, breaking through to her consciousness in confusing images. The same was happening with Adora; Catra found herself haunted by a strange idea of another version of Adora that her mind rebelled at. Catra decided that these thoughts didn’t mean anything, everything was going so well that she would entertain no other possibility. Adora was acting weird too though, she kept spacing out and questioning things. Catra didn’t understand why Adora wouldn’t just accept things as they were. Everything was perfect. Adora was  _ here. _ Somehow Catra was overwhelmingly glad about that, even though she didn’t know why Adora would be anywhere else.

After a particularly frustrating conversation with Adora that left Catra far more angry and upset than she could explain, Catra stormed off to sulk about it. She headed for a corridor with a hollow in the wall that she could crawl into through a broken wall panel. As she approached it, she could hear someone crying and narrowed her eyes. She hoped that no one else had discovered her hiding place; she certainly hadn’t told anyone. Then she remembered - she’d shown Glimmer this one.

Catra hesitated. If Glimmer was upset, she knew she wanted to help her but she didn’t have much experience. She wanted to get it right. Catra fought down the urge to run off and pushed the stun baton charging bank that concealed the broken panel out of the way. The crying stopped.

Catra knelt by the warped metal. “Glimmer?” After a beat, the crying started up again and Catra recognised Glimmer’s voice in the high-pitched gulps of air between sobs. “Uh…”  _ What am I supposed to do here?  _ “Can I come in?”

Some sniffling then, “Uh-huh.”

Catra squeezed into the small space behind the wall and pulled the charging bank back across as far as she could. There wasn’t enough room for two people to fit easily and Catra’s legs pressed against Glimmer in the cramped space. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Glimmer took a few deep breaths. Catra could make out her form with her knees hugged to her chest. Without warning, Glimmer launched into an explanation. “I don’t know why I’m here! One of the force captains, a scorpion woman, was insisting that I shouldn't be here. At first I didn’t understand, because she’s a princess too and she seems to belong here, but it felt like… like she was right. I can’t explain it. I’m so confused.” Glimmer broke down in fresh tears.

_ No, no, no. Not this again.  _ “You are supposed to be here, can’t you see that?”

“But I can’t remember how I got here. I keep seeing these-”

Catra cut her off before she could finish that sentence. “You do belong here! You’re tough and relentless, you’re not afraid to strike as hard as you can, you fight dirty.” Catra realised she hadn’t actually seen any evidence of that last point but it just seemed like something Glimmer would do. “Of course you belong here. And besides, I like you being here.”

“You do?”

At that moment, Catra was hit by a particularly unfortunately timed image of Glimmer moaning underneath her, crying out with pleasure while Catra’s fingers were hot between her legs, begging for Catra’s mouth on her neck. Catra gasped as it vanished. Despite knowing deep down that it was too realistic, too forceful an intrusion into her mind, Catra quickly dismissed the vision as wishful thinking. Glimmer was very attractive after all, she reasoned.

Keen to distract herself from that thought and to deflect attention from having confessed to liking Glimmer being around, Catra tried to shift the conversation. “So... you’re a princess, does that mean you have powers?”

"Yeah, I can do things like this." Glimmer held up her hand and a dim ball of pink light appeared. Her eyes shone in the glow.

"Woah…"

The ball of light wavered and disappeared. "I can teleport too, but-"

"That's awesome! That must be so useful in a fight! Wait, why didn't you do that when those cadets were hassling you?"

"My powers are limited. They run out and I have to be near my runestone in Bright Moon to recharge them. I'm nearly out of magic now." Glimmer sounded like she was on the verge of tears again.

_ You're looking pretty tired too, princess. Running out of glitter?  _ The words were on the tip of Catra's tongue, all sugar-coated bitterness. She bit them back.

"Don't worry about that. I don't have any magic at all and that's not going to stop me from being in charge one day."

Glimmer gave a sad smile in the darkness. "Do you know Shadow Weaver? Apparently she used to teach my dad, though he never mentioned it. She says that she can teach me to access my runestone's power all the way from the Fright Zone."

"No!" The word was out of Catra's mouth before she knew it.

"You don't know her?"

"No, don't let her teach you!" Catra was overwhelmed by a sense of immense threat by the very idea of Shadow Weaver and Glimmer working together. She fought to take a breath as she tried to grasp a reason for it. She didn't want another rival for Shadow Weaver's attention. She didn't want another poisoned friendship. Catra just wanted a friend other than best-at-everything Adora, one who wasn't constantly pitted against her; was that so much to ask? And she didn't want Glimmer to be hurt, a thought which flitted dangerously close to the part of her mind she knew she couldn’t look too closely at. "Just trust me."

Glimmer must have heard the urgency in Catra’s voice because she quietly replied, “Okay, I won’t let her.”

“Okay. Are you ready to get out of here then?”

“Yeah, I think so. Thanks, Catra.”

Catra grunted a non-committal response and hoped that Glimmer’s powers didn’t extend to seeing Catra blushing in the dark. Almost as soon as they were back out in the corridor, the light shifted with a lurch. Something was different. Catra crouched, frightened by the change in atmosphere. She turned to look for Glimmer but she was gone.

Kyle ran by. “Catra! Do you know where Adora is?”

Something seemed to reset in Catra’s mind, like she was catching up with her thoughts. She had a sense of time having passed. Hours? Days? A growing dread meant she was still unwilling to question the strange occurrences, so instead she forced herself to accept the here and now as it was.

“We’re not joined at the hip,” Catra huffed.

“Do you have any idea where she might be?”

Catra growled at that. She was sick of people only seeing her in terms of her relationship with Adora. She had plenty going on just for herself. She wanted everyone to know that. “I’ll find her later.”

“Thanks, Catra!” Kyle looked relieved to be able to run off again.

Catra looked around and tried to work out what she should be doing. Then someone ploughed into her middle.

“Gotcha!” cried Glimmer.

Catra reflexively pushed her off and Glimmer grinned at her, waiting for her to counter-attack. Her hair was no longer sparkling. When had they become so friendly? The thought of play-fighting with Glimmer felt right and made her feel happy, but she had no recollection of reaching this level of closeness. 

Glimmer was still standing expectantly before her. “Come on, how else am I going to learn to be as quick as you without my powers?”

Catra decided to roll with it. She pounced on her and her heart leapt as Glimmer laughed and squealed when they tumbled to the ground. It  _ did  _ feel like this was a familiar activity for them, more or less. Glimmer fought rough and Catra wondered if some of the tender spots she landed on as they rolled over the floor were bruises from earlier tussles. Despite Glimmer’s best efforts, Catra was still the faster and more experienced fighter and soon managed to pin Glimmer to the floor. Glimmer tried to cover her giggles with a scowl as Catra snapped playfully at her.

Someone nearby cleared their throat pointedly and Catra bared her teeth in for real at the interruption. “When you two are done flirting, we need to get ready for the Salineas mission,” said Lonnie, standing with her arms crossed.

“But that’s not for, like, a week!” said Catra.

“Uh, it’s  _ today,”  _ replied Lonnie.

“Salineas…” said Glimmer quietly, frowning.

Lonnie turned to leave. “Look, just find Adora and meet us at the store rooms,” she said as she marched off.

“You can’t attack Salineas!” cried Glimmer, once Lonnie was out of earshot.

“What? Why not?”

“You just can’t…” Glimmer pushed Catra off her and stood up, holding her head. “This is all wrong.”

Catra leapt up and grabbed Glimmer’s shoulders. “No, it’s not! Everything’s perfect!” Glimmer pressed her hands harder to her temples and shook her head. “Please, I just need to go and find Adora-” Catra knew that if Adora was missing then the blame would land squarely on her shoulders “-then I’ll come back for you. Please, Glimmer, just  _ stay.” _

Catra could feel the broken edges of her world creeping into her vision but held fast to the belief that this was how things were supposed to be.

“You…” Glimmer’s face was full of shock and anger now.

_ “Please,” _ Catra begged before she took one last look at Glimmer and sprinted off in the direction she suspected she would find Adora in.

 

Shortly after Catra found Adora in one of their usual haunts, the reality that Catra was clinging to finally unravelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this update! I'm not so confident with writing anything other than smut so I'd really like to hear if you enjoyed reading this. Comments and kudos are very welcome and appreciated!
> 
> Stay tuned/subscribe here or on tumblr/twitter for the Season 4 Glitra edition update sometime soon-ish hopefully! (Edit Feb 2020: "soon" ha. But it really will be soon now, I promise!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glitra edition of season 4 - part 1! Probably part 1 of 3. This one covers episodes 1 - 4, so up to the end of Pulse. This chapter gave me so much trouble but I got there in the end!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: Vomiting mention. Self-harm by excessive exercise. Direct descriptions of those are limited to the first three paragraphs after first horizontal line break.
> 
> (I proofread this while I was very sleepy thanks to some painkillers, I'll try to check again for typos later!)

_ I hate her. Obviously. _

In the months since the portal nearly destroyed Etheria, Glimmer had tripped and stumbled her way through clouds of grief. Their colours shifted unpredictably around her, numbing and painful by turns.

When gaps finally appeared, Glimmer found that she still held more thoughts and feelings than raw grief, waiting for their turn to be heard. Anger, fear, and the crushing weight of responsibility were the loudest at first. Then a more delicate sorrow, for her Angella-less future and the plight of her people, and a renewed sense of resolve. She began to feel like she might be herself again at some point. Eventually she even found that she was still capable of slivers of joy and excitement.

One thought refused to resolve itself clearly, however. It was threaded through almost every feeling she rediscovered in the wake of her grief, connected to too many to make sense. 

_ Catra. _

Gone was the one-dimensional embodiment of all things evil. In its place was the complex, messy Catra who Glimmer couldn’t unsee. Who was hurt, afraid, and desperate to control the world around her. Who had chosen to risk the planet’s destruction and had brought about the loss of Glimmer’s mother.

Tangled up with this new view of Catra were the jumbled memories -  _ false memories,  _ Glimmer reminded herself - from the fractured portal world. Glimmer remembered bits and pieces from her time there with pangs of guilt. Aside from the persistent niggle that something was deeply wrong and the eventual horror as her true memories broke through, Glimmer had loved being there. With the Horde. Or rather, with Catra, since everything she recalled from that time featured Catra and everything in between was curiously blank.

Glimmer tried not to worry too much about it. Adora had also experienced missing blocks of time in the portal reality, so it was probably just coincidence that all Glimmer’s time there had been with Catra. It probably meant nothing. But just in case her time with the portal-Horde was interpreted as wishful thinking, Glimmer claimed to remember nothing at all from the portal. In the immediate aftermath, no other explanation for her unexplained absence from portal-Bright Moon came to mind. Her mother was gone; why did anything about a false reality matter? Adora stopped asking after Glimmer snapped at her.

Questions were waiting for her later though. Glimmer didn’t know how real anyone was in there or what logic drove the details of the altered reality but Adora had said something about it being a twisted version of ‘perfect’. Glimmer joining the Horde and being with Catra - had that been a world Catra thought was perfect? Or one Glimmer thought was perfect? Had everyone’s secret wishes bled into it?

Glimmer also questioned the version of Catra she had met there. Was she a representation of the real Catra or another portal trick? Surely  _ that  _ wasn’t what she was really like. Her playfulness had been joyful rather than cruel and bitter. She was caring. Glimmer had  _ liked  _ her. 

Catra who looked out for her when she was lost and alone. Catra whom Glimmer wanted to fuck. Catra whom Glimmer  _ had  _ fucked. Catra who was tortured by Shadow Weaver. Catra the Horde commander. Catra who tried to destroy the world. Catra who was the reason Glimmer’s mother was gone.

An inescapable din of incompatible emotions centred around Catra. Glimmer couldn’t think because of it. She was the queen now, she couldn’t afford to have any uncertainty. So she forced herself to identify a single acceptable thought that told her how she felt about Catra. By the time of her coronation she had taught herself that this was the only way she felt. She repeated it to herself every time a contradictory thought loomed.

_ I hate her. Obviously. _

Despite bringing her feelings about Catra strictly into line, Glimmer’s time as queen wasn’t going well. The Horde constantly had the upper hand. Glimmer kept being left behind on missions - she particularly resented that Adora had been the one to fight Catra in the Crimson Waste - and her authority was undermined again and again. Even Swiftwind was listened to more than Glimmer. She itched with anxiety over her new responsibilities and with frustration over being prevented from using her new powers. She could do so much more. She wanted a win. And Shadow Weaver was the only one willing to help.

 

Glimmer arrived at the Horde outpost brimming with cold resolve. This time she wasn’t worried about being thrown off by her desire for Catra’s vicious confidence; she found that she no longer desperately wanted to be subjected to it now that she felt that dark confidence within herself. As Glimmer blasted the Horde guards aside and strode through the entrance of the cave, she didn’t know exactly what she planned to do to Catra. But she was excited to find out.

* * *

Catra retched on the floor of the Fright Zone fitness room. Her vision cleared and she stared down at the dirty, worn tiles, waiting to see if she would throw up despite her nearly empty stomach. When the sensation passed, she spat, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and stood up unsteadily. A grimy barbell loaded with mismatched weights lay where it had fallen from her hands. Catra took a deep breath for the first time in days. She knew it wouldn’t last, but for now the attacking thoughts had given up. 

Soon the unease would creep back. Then her enemies’ faces. Adora. Entrapta. Glimmer. People she didn’t care about and who deserved everything they got. Then she started making mistakes. She would make poor decisions that undermined her plan for the Horde: ordering underpowered attacks; aiming for useless targets; missing opportunities to strike. Her breathing would go more and more wrong. So she would go to the bleak fitness room in the middle of the night and work out until she fainted or was sick. Afterwards, her mind was reset and the thoughts were gone. She had to be stronger. She had to stay on track. She couldn’t let those thoughts win.

Catra felt her mind powering back up as she left the fitness room and marched over to the armoury to order a fresh attack despite the late hour. She had to strike while her mind was clear. These were the times she made the best decisions, their severity making up for her poor choices when she couldn’t think clearly. All she had to do was keep those other thoughts in check and she would be fine.

 

“What are you doing back here?”

When Glimmer appeared in the Horde’s Whispering Woods outpost, Catra’s first thought was that Double Trouble had vastly improved their impression of her. The new recruit’s version of Glimmer was cute, and made Catra smile before she could help it, but her spy’s impression of the princess remained all sparkle, no substance. Catra knew her better now. She felt a little smug at that, like the real version of Glimmer was hers alone. Catra would bet even Adora didn’t see Glimmer the way Catra did; she never was good at reading people.

So when the real Glimmer blasted the nearby Horde soldiers into unconsciousness with apparent ease, Catra was entirely unprepared. 

“Oh, it’s  _ you,”  _ said Catra as she narrowly dodged the burst of light aimed at her.

“Who else would it be?” Glimmer advanced fearlessly towards her.

Of course, Catra was always ready to run for her life and leapt to a nearby storage crate. Before she could wonder about what Glimmer’s intentions might be, the crate shattered underneath her.

As Catra jumped away just in time and fled along the row of crates, Glimmer’s blasts chasing after her, she realised she should have readied her mental defenses for seeing Glimmer again. Each crate exploded one after the other right behind Catra, with Glimmer’s blasts almost clinical in their timing. It felt like a game. One which Catra wasn’t sure she wanted to win - having Glimmer pursue her like this was too appealing for comfort.

Catra’s thoughts were loud today. Being in the field meant she had been unable to clear them and she found herself making sloppy dodges, almost letting herself be hit. As she aimed for the high metal walkway that ran through the cave, she tried to pull herself together. Glimmer continued her deliberate stride towards Catra.

“Here,  _ kitty.” _

Glimmer’s words snarled through gritted teeth pulled at Catra like a thread around her neck. Catra stumbled, barely rallied, and scrambled onto the walkway in time to see Glimmer blast a hole in the cave wall to reveal the arsenal of pulse bots. Catra ran along the walkway, hidden from Glimmer’s view but with the sense that Glimmer wasn’t particularly concerned about that.

“Didn’t anyone tell you not to leave your toys lying around? Someone might come along and break them.” 

Catra recognised that tone: Glimmer was enjoying being destructive far too much. The thought sent a chill through her.

Despite the storm building in her mind, Catra was well-practised at keeping up appearances. She called back as scathingly as she could. “You think I don’t have more?”

“I think your bots are off fighting She-Ra,” - Glimmer smiled as she glanced over her shoulder - “leaving you defenceless.”

_ Finally put that dark streak to good use, huh, Sparkles?  _ “Using your best friend as a decoy - nice work. Or did you just want all my attention for yourself?” Catra made a run for it along the walkway but skidded to a halt when Glimmer teleported to block her path.

Glimmer stood over Catra where she had fallen back against the metal walkway floor, her hands already charged with light energy that was brighter and more powerful than Catra remembered. As she prepared to fire at Catra, Glimmer replied grimly, “Something like that.”

Catra stared up at her for a moment too long. Some part of her, the part that refused to stop bringing up the guilt that infected her mind, kept her pinned to the spot, waiting for Glimmer’s hit to wash over her. 

Catra came to her senses just in time and jumped clear of the walkway. Determined to regain the upper hand, to prove to herself that she still had her own cold edge, Catra lashed out at Glimmer with her whip as she fell. Glimmer screamed as she was pulled over the edge at the same time as she released the beam of light from her hands. Its uncontrolled arc tore through a fuel tank and a massive explosion blossomed above Catra and Glimmer as they fell to the ground.

Fire roared in Catra’s ears and debris rained down around her where she landed. She couldn’t see Glimmer anywhere. Then Glimmer flew into her out of nowhere to tackle her to the ground. 

The hard impact knocked back the noise in Catra’s mind - Glimmer’s attack seemed to ease her troubling thoughts somehow. She wanted her to do it again, harder next time. Maybe that way she could have some peace. Deciding to provoke as much violence as possible from Glimmer to reach that end, Catra bit down painfully on her hand and scarpered free when Glimmer squealed and released her.

Now that she had a plan, Catra could get back on her game. All she had to do was to make Glimmer strike her hard enough that she could snap out of her confusion and focus on what was important: defeating the princesses.  _ Obviously.  _ Catra turned and flicked her whip to catch Glimmer’s wrist.

“Enjoying your little tantrum, princess?” Catra yanked the whip hard. “Feels good, right?”

Glimmer held her ground. “It’s 'Queen' now,” she replied, untapped anger in her undertone.

Catra seized her chance. “Oh yeah, I heard,” she said, forcing herself to scoff. “How’s that going for you?”

That did it. Glimmer’s face flashed with fury and she grabbed the whip with her free hand to send a bolt of light down it towards Catra. The agonising shock threw Catra against the wall behind her and she fell to the floor.  _ There,  _ thought Catra, trying to catch her breath through the pain,  _ that’s better. _ Her focus returned to her and she knew what she had to do.

As fast as she could with her body still reeling from the shock, Catra ran for the control panel of the advanced pulse bot the Horde had been saving up. A backwards glance showed Glimmer striding after her, unhurried and paying no attention to the burning debris as she focused on Catra. Her fists were alight with violent intent. Catra’s attention caught on the sight before she dragged her attention back to the panel and began the sequence to activate the bot.

A flash of pink between Catra and the panel, then the disorientating blur of being teleported, and Catra found herself turned around with Glimmer right in front of her. Glimmer slammed her back against the panel and grabbed her by the collar. 

Catra expected a hit from a glowing fist; they’d been here before after all, and this time neither Bow nor Glimmer’s conscience were going to hold Glimmer back. Glimmer was stronger now too; Catra felt the energy radiating from her. 

Catra knew she should do something - set off the bot, run, strike back,  _ anything. _ She could think of a dozen ways to escape but she was letting seconds go by without doing any of them. Instead she was breathing heavily and staring at Glimmer, who was so close and so angry. Glimmer hesitated as she realised how Catra felt a split-second before she did.

Catra wanted Glimmer to hit her as hard as she could. Or, perhaps, to fuck her as hard as she could. Catra didn’t even know which, maybe both. She was rapidly  flooded with the need for it. She could almost feel Glimmer’s hands on her already, intense sensations fired through her body by Glimmer’s touch. Her fingers rubbing too hard on the sudden throbbing between her legs would be just as good as hitting her.

After a beat of surprise, Glimmer tilted her head and smiled sweetly. “What’s the matter, Catra?” Glimmer let go of Catra’s collar and powered down the glow of her fists until only a few sparks danced around her fingers. Catra reflexively tried to scowl back, a voice in the back of her mind mortified that she was letting Glimmer do this. Glimmer slipped her fingers under Catra’s waistband. Catra gasped sharply and pushed against Glimmer’s fingers, the sparks tingling against her skin. “Not scared of some sparkles, are you?”

Glimmer watched Catra struggling against herself, as if she was studying her reactions with great curiosity. Catra spread her legs wider when the begging ache won out and Glimmer gave a self-satisfied smile before moving her hand lower to tease spark-trailing circles on Catra’s lower abdomen. Above them, metal screeched against metal. Something about the way Glimmer looked at her cut through Catra’s thoughts - a look full of anger and single-minded determination to get what she wanted at all costs.

Catra saw it clearly now: Glimmer had flint in her heart too. Catra had sensed it before, but it had taken until now for anything to strike hard enough to make it spark. Now that it had, Glimmer would understand. Catra clung to that idea. Glimmer was like her; she would understand why Catra had done everything. Maybe she would even forgive her.

Before that hope could escape her grasp, Catra closed her eyes and kissed Glimmer. She pressed fiercely against her lips and waited an infinite wait for Glimmer to press back.

Glimmer pulled away, recoiling from Catra with a look of horror.

“What are you doing?!”

“I - I thought -” Catra stammered as the edges of her vision went dark.

“Is this another one of your tricks?” said Glimmer, angry and confused. Glowing orbs reappeared at her clenched fists.

Catra barely heard her over the screaming static that filled her head. She drew a sharp breath to fight against the choking feeling that rose in her throat. A piece of metal railing smashed to the ground beside them and the sounds of the unstable room came rushing back. Twisting metal groaning. Wood snapping as flames from the fuel tank debris took hold of the crates. Catra vaguely noted that it had spread close to them and that she should probably be alarmed. Glimmer seemed to notice at the same time.

_ Glimmer. _

Catra couldn’t look at her. She couldn’t think about her, about what had just happened. She needed to get Glimmer away from her right now. Autopilot took over from somewhere in the back of Catra’s mind and did what she should have done immediately instead of giving into her weakness - she hit the button to activate the bot.

* * *

“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll keep a better eye on Glimmer! Who knew she was so powerful?” said Double Trouble, after collecting their payment from Catra while they dropped her back at the Fright Zone.

When Double Trouble had found her trapped under the collapsed walkway, she had been trembling and incoherent. She had sulked in silence at the back of the skiff until she calmed down enough to function again.

“Huh, whatever. If she hadn’t used Adora as bait…” said Catra, huffily. Despite everything, she still had an image to maintain.

“Oh, yes! How devious! I’d have assumed she was all glitter, no grit.”

“Yeah, everyone does. I bet Adora underestimates her too,” said Catra absentmindedly, thinking of Glimmer’s show of excessive, frustrated force.

“Not you though?” asked Double Trouble coyly.

“No, I- What do you mean?!”

“I think you know what I mean. A Horde commander and the Rebellion queen! Delicious.” They lit up with glee at the intrigue.

“What? You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Catra swiped at them and they dodged nimbly.

“No need for that, kitten. Your little crush is safe with me. Normally I charge extra for keeping secrets but I’m a sucker for a pair of star-crossed lovers,” swooned Double Trouble.

Catra scowled. “A pair of what?”

“Two souls longing for each other but kept cruelly apart by the twists and turns of fate,” said Double Trouble, twirling for added emphasis.

Catra pursed her lips as she tried to think of a lie that would convince Double Trouble. She decided that saying nothing was her best option and tried to resume her authoritative voice. This was a business arrangement after all; Double Trouble made that much clear. “Look, just see if you can find a way to play Adora and Sparkles off against each other. The friendship is bound to have a few cracks by now.”

“‘Sparkles’, huh?” Double Trouble grinned as they jumped back on the skiff and out of reach of Catra’s bared claws. “It’ll be my pleasure.”

 

Alone in her room that night, Catra imagined Glimmer taking her anger out on her. The thought of Glimmer hurting her felt right; it soothed the clawing in her mind. She reached between her legs in the dark and imagined Glimmer punishing her over and over - with the whip, her fists, her power, her fingers, her mouth… Smiling while she made Catra scream. Catra rubbed faster and harder, wanting to get this over and done with without thinking too much about what it meant, until she found the release her foolishness had denied her earlier.

Catra wanted Glimmer’s attention. Her own behaviour today, coming so close to completely compromising herself, had shown her that much. Perhaps the events of the portal reality had affected her more than she realised. Despite her best intentions, she had let herself believe Glimmer could ever like her. That had been her near-fatal mistake.

Catra knew she would never have Glimmer’s love, or anything resembling it. But she didn’t need it. Glimmer’s hate would be good enough instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP to “You even taste like glitter” - that line of Glitra gold tragically didn’t make the cut since she’s already bitten her in this AU.
> 
> [ChicaFenix88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChicaFenix88/) made a Glitra AMV that was partly inspired by this fic and I love it so much! You can find it on [youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5zGDoxIl7E) or [tumblr](https://chicafenix88.tumblr.com/post/190799677894/tactical-disadvantage). 
> 
> vikaa_47 drew art of this chapter! It's beautiful!! You can find it on [twitter](https://twitter.com/vikaa_47/status/1238152090335272962) or [tumblr](https://vikaa47.tumblr.com/post/612403992956436480/drawing-of-chapter-7-of-the-ao3-glitra-fic) (nsfw-ish). I'll try embedding it in the text one day when I'm in the mood for a challenge.
> 
> Two more chapters of Glitra edition season 4 to go! Hopefully not as long a wait as there was for this chapter.
> 
> I hope you're enjoying reading this! Thank you for your encouraging comments, they make me so happy to read :)

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://teaandsmut.tumblr.com) [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/teaandsmut) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/teaandsmut)


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